Frequently Asked Questions
To make an appointment, please call the office at 704-960-2632 or send us a message via the contact form. While every effort is made to answer your phone call at the time you make it, please understand that you may have to leave a message on the confidential voice mail, and that every effort will be made to return your call in a timely manner.
Currently, Horizon has three different types of providers. Drs. Parekh and Craig fully licensed doctoral-level psychologists and Mr. Youron is a fully licensed psychological associate (or master’s-level psychologist). Ms. Jackson is an associate licensed clinical social worker. Mrs. Bechtel is an educational diagnostician.
A psychologist is an individual with graduate training specifically in psychology (2+ years past the bachelors degree for a masters-level psychologist, 6+ years past the bachelors degree for a doctoral-level psychologist). A psychiatrist is a medical doctor who completed a residency (4 years past medical school) in the prescription of medication for treating mental health issues. At this time, psychologists are not able to prescribe medication in North Carolina.
No. At this time, Horizon does not have a psychiatrist on staff. However, the therapists at Horizon will work with prescribers in the community to coordinate care as needed to make sure all clients receive optimal treatment.
Due to the complex nature of insurance company policies, it is important to double-check with your insurance company as to whether a specific psychologist is covered by your insurance plan. We will check your insurance coverage for you. Currently, we accept the following insurances: Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, Carolinas Behavioral Health Alliance, Coventry/Wellpath, Magellan, and Medcost as in-network, as well as with insurance plans that use the FedMed Network. Out-of-network insurance filing is also provided.
This depends upon your specific insurance policy. Horizon staff will be more than happy to check the specific benefits of your insurance policy and let you know ahead of time what your likely out-of-pocket costs will be. These estimates, however, should not be considered as guarantees, as Horizon staff rely upon information provided by the insurance company itself, which may not always be accurate.
Horizon accepts cash, check, Visa, and Mastercard. Fees are expected to be paid at the time of service unless others arrangements have been made prior to the appointment. For clients whose insurance benefits have been verified prior to the appointment, the amount to be paid will depend upon their specific insurance policy, and every effort is made to make clients aware of their estimated financial responsibility prior to the appointment. For clients whose insurance does not cover services or are not using insurance, full payment is expected at the time of the appointment. A deposit may be requested on the day of psychological testing, depending upon insurance policy benefits.
A copayment or copay is a specific dollar amount that you pay each time for certain services. If you have a co-pay, you will be responsible for the same amount at each visit, and your insurance company will pay the difference between your co-pay and the negotiated provider fee.
A deductible is the amount that you are financially responsible for before the insurance company pays for services, meaning you will be responsible for the full negotiated fee until a certain out-of-pocket number is reached, annually.
Coinsurance is a percent of the cost of your care that you are responsible for paying. For example, if the negotiated insurance fee is $100 and you have a 20% coinsurance, you will pay $20 and your insurance company will pay $80.
Each insurance company has a “contracted panel” of providers whom the insurance company considers to be “in-network.” It is up to the individual insurance company to determine which providers can be in-network. Unfortunately, not all insurance companies will accept all licensed providers to be on their panel, and there are some insurance companies that have high paperwork burdens for in-network providers; for this reason, Horizon providers vary as to which companies they are considered “in-network” for. Regardless of whether your Horizon provider is in-network or out-of-network, you can be assured you will still receive the same quality of service. Horizon staff will check your benefits and file insurance on your behalf in order to help you get the most benefit from your insurance plan.
Due to insurance company restrictions, Horizon cannot offer discounts to those who do not use insurance benefits. Depending on the service provided and the individual provider, fees range between $135-180 for the initial session and $115-150 for follow-up sessions. Psychological testing is offered at an hourly rate of $135. Educational testing and non-clinical psychological testing is offered at various prices depending upon the reason for testing.
We understand that things come up and appointments need to be rescheduled or cancelled. As a courtesy to not only the providers at Horizon, but also to the other clients at Horizon, we ask that you let the office know as soon as possible if you need to cancel your appointment. Horizon providers do not “double book” appointment times, and when clients do not cancel in advance, providers are unable to offer those appointments to other clients in need. We ask for a minimum of 24 hours notice for cancellation in order to avoid incurring a $70 late cancellation fee. Of course, we understand genuinely unavoidable things, such as sickness, do occur and a late cancellation fee will not be charged in those cases. We do ask that you call as soon as possible to let the office know of a cancellation.