Mental health services at Forge Psychology Chicago are currently in-network with most Aetna, Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Blue Choice, and Optum PPO Plans. Some Aetna and United HMO plans may also be accepted as in-network, though this practice is out-of-network with all BCBS HMO plans. Medicaid and Medicare plans are out-of-network and not accepted, even if offered under the branding of Blue Cross Blue Shield, Aetna, or Optum (e.g., Blue Cross Community).

New patients who are not using their insurance plans are accepted at a self-pay rate of $170.00 for individual psychotherapy sessions. This rate has remained unchanged since 2021 to keep costs of care stable despite inflation. If you would like to seek out-of-network reimbursement through your insurance company, you may receive a superbill (invoice). Forge Psychology providers can neither guarantee the service will be reimbursed nor provide refunds should your insurance company decline the request. Forge Psychology providers do not communicate with insurance companies at any point in this out-of-network process. Your credit card will be charged at the time of service for the full amount of the service. Depending on your insurance benefits, your cost per session may reduce once you have met the out-of-network deductible and the maximum out-of-pocket expenses for which you are responsible.

Please note that 90-minute out-of-network sessions are billed at a rate of $220.00 to account for the enhanced session duration. These sessions are extended only to patients engaged in Prolonged Exposure (PE).

Effective January 1, 2022, all self-pay patients are protected under the "No Surprises Act." For more information, click here. In January of each year, self-pay patients will receive a "good faith estimate" of expected costs of services for the upcoming year.

Your provider will answer any questions about the services provided, scope of competency, and the extent to which your provider believes they will be a good fit for helping you toward your goals. However, phone screens do not result in receiving any clinical interventions, as you will not be enrolled as a patient in the practice at this early stage. Interventions are reserved for full sessions once you have completed practice enrollment via an intake. No provider can guarantee any outcomes based on a brief, non-clinical phone screen. The intake process is a more thorough assessment of your needs.

Initial visits are essential introductions to co-constructing a lasting relationship. Your provider will collaborate with you on goal formation and draft a personalized treatment approach. Required paperwork is completed at this stage of treatment. Initial visits last for a duration of approximately 50-60 minutes and are billed under the 90791 billing code (intake evaluation). If you are not able to use in-network insurance, your self-pay (out-of-network) rate will be billed at the standard service rate of $170.00 (due at the time of service). Should this partnership not be an ideal fit, you will receive referrals to connect to the care best-suited for your needs.

In-person sessions are offered in the Wicker Park neighborhood with Dr. Jackson Newsome only (physical location: 2045 W North Ave, Suite 2B Chicago, IL 60647). Telehealth visits are conducted on a remote basis (video) to patients living in Illinois, the 39 other states participating in PSYPACT, and Washington, D.C.; in-person optionality is offered on a tentative basis, and sessions may be converted to virtual format at a provider's discretion, such as in the case of safety hazards (e.g., pandemic-related) or changes in availability to physical space.

Via PSYPACT, Dr. Newsome offers telehealth services in the following locations:

Alabama - AL SB 102 (Enacted 3/18/2021; Effective 6/1/2021)

Arizona - AZ HB 2503 (Enacted on 5/17/2016; Effective 7/1/2020)

Arkansas - AR HB 1760 (Enacted 4/25/2021; Effective (11/18/2021)

Colorado - CO HB 1017 (Enacted 4/12/2018; Effective 7/1/2020)

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands - CNMI HB 22-80 (Enacted and Effective 10/24/2022)

Connecticut -CT S 2(Enacted 5/24/2022; Effective 10/1/2022)

Delaware - DE HB 172 (Enacted 6/27/2019; Effective 7/1/2020)

District of Columbia - DC B 145 (Enacted and Effective 4/2/2021)

Florida -FL H 33(Enacted 5/25/2023; Effective 7/1/2023)

Georgia - GA HB 26 (Enacted 4/23/2019; Effective 7/1/2020)

Idaho - ID S 1305 (Enacted 3/23/2022; Effective 7/1/2022)

Illinois - IL HB 1853 (Enacted 8/22/2018, Effective 7/1/2020)

Indiana -IN S 365(Enacted 3/10/2022; Effective 7/1/2022)

Kansas - KS SB 170 (Enacted 5/17/2021; Effective 1/1/2022)

Kentucky - KY HB 38 (Enacted 3/18/2021; Effective 6/28/2021)

Maine - ME HB 631 (Enacted 6/22/2021; Effective 10/18/2021)

Maryland - MD HB 970 (Enacted and Effective 5/18/2021)

Michigan -MI H 5489(Enacted 12/22/2022; Effective 3/29/2023)

Minnesota - MN SB 193 (Enacted 5/25/2021; Effective 5/26/2021)

Mississippi -SB 2157(Enacted 4/8/2024; Effective 4/15/2024)

Missouri - MO HB 1719/MO SB 660 (Enacted 6/1/2018; Effective 7/1/2020)

Nebraska - NE L 1034 (Enacted 4/23/2018; Effective 7/1/2020)

Nevada - NV AB 429 (Enacted on 5/26/2017; Effective 7/1/2020)

New Hampshire- NH SB 232 (Enacted 7/10/2019; Effective 7/1/2020)

New Jersey -NJ A 4205(Enacted 9/24/2021; Effective 11/23/2021)

North Carolina - NC 361 (Enacted 7/1/2020; Effective 3/1/2021)

North Dakota -ND S 2205(Enacted 4/13/2023; Effective 8/1/2023)

Ohio -OH S 2 (Enacted 4/27/2021; Effective 7/26/2021)

Oklahoma - OK HB 1057 (Enacted 4/29/2019; Effective 7/1/2020)

Pennsylvania- PA SB 67(Enacted 5/8/2020; Effective 7/8/2020)

Rhode Island -RI H 7501(Enacted 6/21/2022; Effective7/1/2023)

South Carolina -SC H 3204(Enacted 5/16/2023; Effective7/17/2023)

South Dakota -SD H 1017(Enacted 2/13/24: Effective 7/1/2024)

Tennessee -TN S 161 (Enacted and Effective 5/11/2021)

Texas - TX HB 1501 (Enacted 6/10/2019; Effective 7/1/2020)

Utah - UT SB 106 (Enacted on 3/17/2017; Effective 7/1/2020)

Vermont -VT H 282(Enacted 6/1/2023; Effective 7/1/2024)

Virginia- VA SB 760(Enacted 4/11/2020; Effective 1/1/2021)

Washington -WA H 1286(Enacted 3/4/2022; Effective 6/9/2022)

West Virginia - WV SB 668 (Enacted 4/21/2021; Effective 11/18/2021)

Wisconsin -WI A 537 (Enacted 2/4/2022; Effective 2/6/2022)

Wyoming - WY S 26 (Enacted 2/15/2023; Effective 2/15/2023)

Participation in telehealth is contingent upon screening for appropriateness of care via this modality. Some presenting concerns are best-suited for in-person treatment, symptom monitoring, and assessment.

Individual Psychotherapy: Sessions are conducted within the standard "therapy hour" (between 45 and 55 minutes). Your provider will start and end sessions on time to maintain the frame of treatment and to avoid reducing the next patient's allotted time. During the initial visit, your provider will discuss the session frequency that best addresses your needs. Most patients engage in one or two sessions per week. Treatment lengths vary. Your provider will evaluate outcomes at session milestones to inform the continuation or completion of your work.

If you are using an in-network insurance plan, you may be billed the following codes based on session duration: 90791 (intake sessions only), 90834 (38-52 minutes), 90837 (53-60 minutes). If you are self-paying or are out-of-network, you will be charged a flat rate of $170.00 for scheduled individual sessions. This list is non-exhaustive and provided as a list of the most common billing scenarios.

Other Notes on Billing Codes:

-Patients seeking Prolonged Exposure (PE), which may involve some 90-minute sessions, will utilize a different fee structure discussed before initiating services (insurance coverage for enhanced session durations varies). The self-pay rate for a 90-minute PE session would be $220.00.

-Relationship and family psychotherapy billing falls under CPT code 90847. Coverage varies.

-Group psychotherapy billing falls under 90853. If covered in-network, you may only receive in-network insurance coverage for one group per day. Certain groups, such as purely psychoeducation groups (i.e., self-help information provided without meaningful therapeutic support), may be billed only on a self-pay basis per rules governing most insurance plans.

-An interactive complexity code (90785) may be added should unanticipated difficulties be faced during sessions (i.e., factors exceeding the bounds of a typical psychotherapy encounter).

Other Fees:

-In the event your provider is required or requested to appear in court, the fee is $250.00 per hour (not billable to insurance).

-Provider rates for administrative work outside of routine processes is $185.00 per hour (not billable to insurance). This fee can be reduced if the work requires less than one full hour and would be billed in fifteen minute increments. For instance, writing a support letter for 30 minutes would be billed at a 50% rate of $92.50. Reviewing medical records for fifteen minutes would be billed at 25% rate of $46.25.

Except with very straightforward questions, it may be difficult to determine goodness-of-fit via a brief email or phone conversation. For situations that may take some time to explore, please schedule an initial session so that a provider may assess your individual needs. Currently, Forge Psychology serves adult patients only. Common treatment areas are noted in this website's page sharing the same name. Forge Psychology does not currently enroll patients with severe psychosis, primary substance misuse concerns, primary imbalanced eating concerns, or current behaviors that result in the serious injury of oneself or others. Generally, these concerns are treated best by a comprehensive treatment team rather than a solo provider.

At present, mental health services include individual psychotherapy slots for adult patients, as well as one group option. You may receive referrals for other clinicians, groups, and/or intensive programs to address emergent or supplemental needs.