Behavioral & Mental Health Coding & Billing. So You Can Focus on Your Patients.
Therapists and psychiatric clinicians spend hours wrestling with session-length thresholds, psychotherapy add-on rules, and denied insurance claims. Pacific Ridge Coding Group provides dedicated coding and billing support tailored to behavioral health, keeping your practice compliant and cash flow predictable.
The Behavioral Health Difference
Coding Challenges Mental Health Practices Face Every Day
Mental health coding is governed by strict time thresholds, add-on combinations, and payer-specific telehealth rules. General billing companies frequently misinterpret these codes, causing rejections and delayed payments.
Session-Length Time Thresholds
Individual psychotherapy codes are strictly time-based: 90832 (30 min / 16–37 min), 90834 (45 min / 38–52 min), and 90837 (60 min / 53+ min). Missing start and stop times or insufficient clinical notes trigger downcoding and payer audit flags.
Psychotherapy Add-Ons with E/M
Psychiatrists and psychiatric NPs often provide medication management alongside therapy. Combining an evaluation and management code (99202–99215) with add-on psychotherapy (90833, 90836, 90838) requires separate time and medical decision-making documentation.
Telehealth POS & Modifiers
Telehealth billing rules vary widely across commercial payers, Medicare, and Medicaid. Claims require proper selection between Place of Service 02 (telehealth outside patient home) versus Place of Service 10 (telehealth in patient home), paired with Modifier 95.
Initial Diagnostic Evaluations
Initial patient intakes require accurate distinction between 90791 (psychiatric diagnostic evaluation without medical services, used by therapists) and 90792 (with medical services, used by physicians and psychiatric NPs).
Family, Group & Complexity
Family therapy with patient present (90847) vs. without patient (90846), group therapy (90853), and interactive complexity add-on (90785) require specific clinical rationale documented in the chart notes.
Led by Certified Expertise
Head Coder Christiana Rosalin is an AAPC Certified Professional Coder (CPC). We conduct thorough documentation reviews, assign compliant ICD-10-CM and CPT codes, and help you get paid accurately for the clinical care you deliver.
Structured Service Tiers
Our Three Starting Packages
Choose the level of support your practice needs—from accurate code assignment to end-to-end claims tracking and appeal resolution.
Coding
Essential medical coding support for practices that handle their own billing submission in-house.
Coding & Billing
Comprehensive coding paired with pre-claim scrubbing and insurance submission for solo therapists and small practices.
Complete Claims Management
Full revenue cycle management including active status monitoring, denial investigation, corrections, and appeals.
Comprehensive Capabilities
Specialized Behavioral Health Services
Beyond our standard packages, we support clinicians across all aspects of mental health documentation, compliance, and coding.
Psychiatric Coding
Coding for psychiatric diagnostic evaluations (90792) and ongoing medication management encounters (99202–99215) with psychotherapy add-ons.
Psychotherapy Coding
Accurate code selection for individual sessions (90832, 90834, 90837), family and couples therapy (90846, 90847), and group therapy (90853).
Telehealth Coding
Navigation of evolving virtual care rules, including proper place of service codes (POS 02 / POS 10) and modifier 95 application per payer policy.
Documentation Review
Spotting missing session start/stop times, vague clinical notes, or insufficient diagnostic justification before claims are submitted to insurance.
Coding Audits
Chart sample reviews assessing code accuracy, identifying potential undercoding (lost revenue) or overcoding (compliance and audit risk).
Billing & Denial Support
Investigating coding-related claim rejections, correcting clearinghouse formatting errors, and managing insurer appeals for denied encounters.
How Percentage-Based Pricing Works
Our pricing is structured as a transparent percentage of what insurance pays per encounter. We only earn when your claims are successfully paid by insurance, keeping our goals directly aligned with yours.
*Example rate of 7% shown for illustration. Final pricing percentage is established during consultation based on selected package and practice claim volume.
Who We Serve
Tailored for Mental & Behavioral Health Clinicians
From solo therapists launching their private practice to established group clinics and telehealth organizations.
Leadership
Meet the Founders of Pacific Ridge
A dedicated team combining certified medical coding expertise, business operations, provider relations, and secure technical systems.
Christiana Rosalin, CPC
AAPC Certified Professional Coder (CPC). Directs coding standards, clinical documentation review, and quality assurance.
Damon Jarrell
Manages firm operations, practice onboarding workflows, and operational efficiency across client accounts.
Ashley Rainey
Leads practice partnerships, provider communication, and outreach to mental health clinics and organizations.
Jordan Rainey
Oversees secure technical infrastructure, encrypted file transfer systems, and IT safeguards for protected health information.
Request a Free Consultation
Tell us about your practice and the coding or billing support you need. We will schedule a brief discussion to walk through your workflows and provide package pricing.