Charges for crisis phone calls

This is a very weird situation that is very complicated but I will try to be brief.
I have been in therapy since 1989 , that’s over 34 years.
The therapist has charged me for co pays since 2018 even though he was forbidden to do so by Medicare and my Medigap policy.
He owes me a ton of money and I am prepared to give him the paperwork exacting how much he owes me.
Now he is saying that I owe him for ALL the crisis phone calls he answered on my behalf. for the past 34 years. Do you believe this one?
I am shaken and feel totally betrayed by his response.
He never said a word about charging me for the phone calls, or presented me with a bill with time date and duration of crisis phone call.
I am so upset about this.
I want him to pay me back for the copays that I was. not required by MEDICARE or my Medigap policy to pay.
Where does he get off back charging me for phone calls— very few lasted more than 5 to 10:minutes if that long— without proper notification and billing documentation?
I’m ready to throw the legal book at him and am not looking forward to that gargantuan task.
Thanks everyone.
I’m very very disgusted now with this therapist I trusted for 34 years.

@Serenamia you are in a situation where some legal counsel might be the best policy. I do not know what the law is but I think these people might help you. Google

Quote:

nyc free medicare legal help

and check those out.

Hoping for the best outcome for all.

I think candc is right, your best bet in legal counsel.

I am surprised your medicare policy doesnt require a copay. Mine did, although it was pretty low. And after the law passed i think this century putting mental health on par with physical health, the copay was more reasonable. But i thought it was before 2018.

You dont have to answer, but why should he not have charged you? Plus it seems like it would be impossible to clawback money from a therapist. That would be a quest.

I am sorry you are in this situation.

my suggestion is if you are still seeing this therapist ask to see the rights and responsibilities papers, and the confidentiality paperwork and the contracted fees paperwork that you signed stating you gave your insurance the right to pay for your appointments.

these are found in the official mental health file that your therapist has kept about you and any official paperwork sent to you or done with you for the past 35 years. they are a permanent part of your mental health records.

you may remember when you had your first appointment you had a whole bunch of papers to fill in and sign. thats what these papers are. you received a copy the day you started seeing the therapist and the therapist kept the original papers in the files.

these papers tell you and your therapist contract things like -

what your responsibilities and rights are while attending therapy with that therapist and the mental health agency.

what things you tell them are held private and confidential and what things therapists and mental health agencies must report

how the therapist and mental health agency uses your personal information.

what your contracted cost for therapy is and whether you give your insurance company permission to pay for your therapy. on this paper there is also a paragraph stating if there are any costs that the insurance will not pay for, you are held responsible. and a place for you to sign and date it.

if you are no longer seeing this therapist, you can still get a copy of these official papers by asking the therapist or receptionist for the form to request a copy of them from your files.

you can also give a lawyer written and signed release of information form that gives the lawyer permission to have a copy of your mental health records. then they will get access to the files and see whether or not you are responsible for any costs and services by the therapist and mental health agency that your insurance plan does not cover.

good luck, hope everything works out for you.

Was there a rupture that caused this rift between you two? It seems like if you've had a relationship for 34 years, and there was trust there, that there must be a reason other than the money that is behind this conflict. You've been paying the copay for 5 years. Why are you bringing it up with him just now?

I'm not saying he should have been charging you the copay or trying to bill you for phone calls, but it just seems like something relational has happened for it to come to this.

The dude Coerced me into having four sessions a week.
Most times I say nothing or am nasty and abusive.
It’s a sick sick situation and I am a stupid **** up for getting sucked into this ********.
He won’t leave me alone.
I have no desire to change .
The dude thinks he’s a missionary.
I’m not going to Change.
I was born miserable and I will die miserable— hopefully soon — I can’t wait to croak.