Your Right to a Good Faith Estimate
Federal law gives you the right to know what care will cost before you begin. It applies if you're paying privately or choosing not to use your insurance, which is most of the people who work with me. If you're using in-network benefits, your plan sets your cost and tells you what it is. Either way, it's a right worth using rather than a form to sign.
The notice, in the government's own words
You have the right to receive a “Good Faith Estimate” explaining how much your medical care will cost.
Under the law, health care providers need to give patients who don't have insurance or who are not using insurance an estimate of the bill for medical items and services.
You have the right to receive a Good Faith Estimate for the total expected cost of any non-emergency items or services. This includes related costs like medical tests, prescription drugs, equipment, and hospital fees.
Make sure your health care provider gives you a Good Faith Estimate in writing at least 1 business day before your medical service or item. You can also ask your health care provider, and any other provider you choose, for a Good Faith Estimate before you schedule an item or service.
If you receive a bill that is at least $400 more than your Good Faith Estimate, you can dispute the bill.
Make sure to save a copy or picture of your Good Faith Estimate.
For questions or more information about your right to a Good Faith Estimate, visit www.cms.gov/medical-bill-rights or call 1-800-985-3059.
How this works here, specifically
If you're paying privately, you'll receive a written Good Faith Estimate before your first session, covering the intake, the expected session rate, and the anticipated number of sessions based on what we discuss in the consult. You don't have to ask for it. If you're using SelectHealth, Regence BCBS, Aetna, Cigna or Carelon in-network, the estimate that matters is the one Headway gives you of your copay or coinsurance before we start, and you can ask me for a written estimate at any time as well.
Because therapy isn't a fixed-length procedure, the estimate covers an expected range rather than a guaranteed total. If the plan changes, whether that's a different session length, a different frequency, or work that runs longer than we anticipated, you'll get an updated estimate rather than a surprise.
You can ask for an estimate at any point, including before you schedule anything at all. Current rates are published in full on the Fees page, so you can do the arithmetic yourself before you ever make contact.
If something doesn't match
If you're ever billed at least $400 more than your Good Faith Estimate, you have the right to dispute it through the federal patient-provider dispute resolution process, and you can start that at cms.gov/medical-bill-rights. Raising it with me directly first is usually faster, and I would rather fix a billing error than have you fight about it.
Last updated: September 2026. Questions about anything on this page? Email hello@piercepointcounseling.com.