Credentialing And Payer Enrollment
Credentialing Services For Mental Health Providers
AdvanceAPractice prepares payer applications and follows each one to a written decision for therapists, psychologists, PMHNPs and psychiatrists. We handle commercial insurance, Medicare and Medicaid enrollment.
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Build Your Credentialing Price
Choose the work and how many insurance companies each provider needs. See your total before you pay. Provider and payer details come next, in secure onboarding.
Not open yet, or still employed and starting your own practice? First Practice Launch sets up your payers, EHR, scheduling and medical billing together.
Two payers run $1,200 to $2,000 per provider, setup fee included. Every payer after that costs the same per payer price.
The more providers, the lower the price: 2 to 4 providers save 10%, 5 to 9 save 15% and 10 to 50 save 20%. The discount comes off the whole subtotal automatically. For example, a clinic adding 10 providers to contracts it already holds pays $1,240 per provider for two payers instead of $1,550.
Payers are added one at a time, up to 10 per provider. Government enrollment is $450 per provider for each Medicare, Medicaid or Medicaid plan enrollment, with no setup fee, and can be bought on its own or with a package.
Your Credentialing Price
Total
What Is Included
Track progress and next steps in your Command Suite. Each payer decides approval and effective dates.
Subtotal
Discount For Multiple Providers
Checkout keeps this exact selection and total.
Most questions answered within one business day, and up to two meetings a month if you need them. One person coordinates your file and keeps each payer’s status in the Command Suite.
Credentialing for national and regional commercial plans. We prepare and manage applications for plans such as UnitedHealthcare/Optum, Aetna, Cigna/Evernorth, Anthem/Elevance, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Humana and regional payers. Requirements and panel availability depend on your provider type, state and practice entity. We confirm the selected payers and scope before work begins. You sign any paper application a payer requires.
Medicaid changes at the state line. Commercial contracts are usually set by state or market, so a provider licensed in two states often needs a separate application in each. For Medicaid, each state runs its own program and enrollment system, with its own rules about who you contract with after you enroll. See credentialing and payer enrollment by state for all 50 states and DC.
What We Manage
Behavioral Health Credentialing, From Application To Written Decision
We prepare your provider file, submit each application and follow payer requests through to a written decision. For approved payers, we confirm the enrollment details needed before you bill.
Provider File And CAQH Review
We review your DataSpring/CAQH profile with you, flag missing or conflicting information and keep it aligned with your applications. We track attestation dates during the work; the provider completes and attests the profile.
Applications And Payer Follow Up
We prepare the applications on your Order Form, answer payer requests and follow up at least every 10 business days until each payer gives its decision in writing. Medicare and Medicaid are selected separately.
Approval And Billing Readiness
For approved payers, we confirm the effective date, provider loading and directory listing, then complete portal and payment enrollment steps within your scope. Approval alone does not mean the payer is ready to process claims.
Which One Is Yours
Credentialing Situations Side By Side
Already in network through Headway, Rula, an employer or another practice? Our guide From Headway or Rula to Your Own Practice explains how contracts, Tax IDs and payment setup change when you move to your own practice.
Find the row that matches your practice today. The price builder above sets the same situation for you and adds more payers when you need them.
| Package | Who It’s For | What You Need | Not Included | Price | Checkout |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Individual Provider Credentialing | One provider whose business and EHR are set up and who needs contracts in their own name. | Accurate license, education, work history, insurance, business and banking records. | Joining a clinic’s existing contracts, or changing your Tax ID, which we quote in writing. Medicare and Medicaid are added separately. | $1,200 for two payers: $500 setup plus $350 per payer. | Buy Now |
| New Provider Credentialing | A provider joining a clinic that already holds the payer contracts. | The clinic’s signed contract with each payer you pick. | New group contracts for a clinic that doesn’t have them yet. That’s Direct Payer Contracting. | $1,550 for two payers: $750 setup per provider plus $400 per payer. | Buy Now |
| Direct Payer Contracting | A group practice that needs contracts under its own Tax ID. | Your own business, EIN and Type 2 NPI. | Setting up your practice, your EHR or your business records. That’s First Practice Launch. | $2,000 for two payers: $1,000 setup per provider plus $500 per payer. | Buy Now |
| Medicare Or Medicaid Enrollment | Any provider who needs a government program, on its own or with a package. | The program and state for each enrollment. Medicaid is its own enrollment in each state, and in most states each health plan is a separate application. | Billing, fixing an application that was already denied, and ABA agencies. | $450 per enrollment per provider, with no setup fee. Two enrollments minimum when ordered alone. | Buy Now |
| First Practice Launch | A fully licensed provider opening a first practice, including one leaving Headway, Rula, Alma or Grow. | Your license. Your business records, Tax ID and NPIs get set up as part of the launch. | Medicare and Medicaid enrollment, which you can add at $450 each. Ongoing medical billing and an EHR subscription. | $6,000 with five payers included, or four payments of $1,500. | Buy Now |
After your applications are done, Ongoing Credentialing keeps every provider current, from $80 per provider a month.
Three Ways To Get Credentialed
Comparing Credentialing Services For Mental Health Providers
Mental health providers get on insurance panels one of three ways. The big difference is whose contracts you end up on.
| Option | Whose Contracts | How You Pay |
|---|---|---|
| Insurance platforms such as Headway or Alma | The platform’s. You join its payer contracts, and Alma says members are credentialed under Alma’s Tax ID. | Headway says it keeps a small percentage of session payments, and it is adding a $9.99 fee per appointment with new clients who find you through its marketplace, state by state starting November 2026. Alma charges a monthly membership. |
| Credentialing only services | Yours, under your own Tax ID. | A fee for the applications. Billing stays with your own staff or another company. |
| AdvanceAPractice, done for you under your own Tax ID | Yours. We follow every application to the payer’s written decision. | A published setup fee per provider plus one price per payer, from $350 per payer. |
Each package is a one time setup fee per provider plus one price per payer, with a two payer minimum. New Provider Credentialing is $750 setup plus $400 per payer, Direct Payer Contracting is $1,000 setup plus $500 per payer and Individual Provider Credentialing is $500 setup plus $350 per payer.
Headway and Alma details come from each company’s own provider pages (help.headway.co and helloalma.com), checked October 25, 2026. AdvanceAPractice is not affiliated with Headway or Alma.
“I struggled with the task for several months and only got more confused in the process. Between the various insurance companies I am credentialed with and not even knowing what I didn’t know, it was a scary maze.
AdvanceAPractice came in, handled it with confidence and good communication, and helpfully led me through my transition questions with patience. The fee was well worth the assistance I received. Highly recommend!”
We credential providers in all 50 states, starting at $1,200 for two payers: a one time setup fee per provider plus a price for each insurance company you add. Built for telehealth, in person and hybrid practices. All of our work is done virtually, so we never come on site.
Status Visibility
Know The Status Of Every Payer Enrollment
You get one tracked view of every provider’s credentialing in the AdvanceAPractice Command Suite, included while you’re a client. It replaces chasing payers and living in a spreadsheet, and it shows which panels are approved, which are pending and what happens next, so billing knows who’s ready before anyone’s put on the schedule.
Ask Practice ConciergeWhat You See
Where Every Payer Stands
How It Works
How We Track Your Credentialing
Prep CAQH
We review your CAQH profile with you, gather documents and confirm your NPI, license, DEA and malpractice are current before any application goes out. You complete and attest the profile. We audit it first and tell you exactly what’s missing.
Prepare And Submit Your Applications
We send complete applications to every payer you picked at the same time, not one after another, so no panel waits on the one before it.
Document Each Status And Follow Up
We follow each application through the payer’s queue, answer every request for missing information, and push on any that stall until the payer makes its decision in writing. We follow up with each payer at least every 10 business days. If a payer says no or its panel is closed, you get that answer in writing and that payer is complete.
Before You Buy
Check That Your License And Payers Fit
Check Your License With Each Payer
Which payers will credential you, and how, depends on your state, your license level, the payer and whether you’re supervised. An LSW and an LISW, for example, can be handled differently. We confirm every payer in each state before we apply, and we’ll tell you in writing if yours doesn’t fit.
Medicare And Medicaid Enrollment
Government enrollment covers new Medicare and Medicaid enrollments, and it doesn’t include billing. We don’t take on fixing an application that has already been denied. We don’t work with ABA agencies.
Several Locations, States Or Health Plans?
You can price up to 50 providers online. For multiple locations, several states or a long list of health plans, send us your provider count, locations, states and plans and we’ll reply with a written quote within one business day.
Ongoing Credentialing
After your applications are done, we keep every provider current with the plans they’re in. Both plans cover CAQH re‑attestations, license, DEA and malpractice tracking, monthly exclusion checks, and roster and location updates, and both start with a baseline review in your first 30 days. It’s month to month, with monthly autopay.
Complete
$100 per provider a month for up to 3 plans, plus $15 a month for each added plan, with 20% off at 10 or more providers.
For practices that want recredentialing and revalidations included. Up to three plans are included for each provider; each additional plan adds $15 per provider a month.
Essentials
$80 per provider a month, flat.
For practices that want routine upkeep and prefer to pay for recredentialing when it comes due. Recredentialing costs $200 per provider per plan, in addition to the monthly fee.
We can do the DataSpring/CAQH and payer portal work for you, or walk you through each step on a screen share if you’d rather keep the logins. It’s part of your package either way.
How Credentialing Works
Most credentialing delays come from the steps before and after the application.
Confirm The Enrollment You Need
Joining an existing group contract, moving panels to a new Tax ID, and opening a first network are three different requests. Getting that wrong costs weeks before anyone notices.
Build The File Before Submitting
License, DEA where applicable, malpractice naming the correct business, work history without gaps, and a current CAQH attestation. Payers reject on completeness long before they judge the provider.
Track Each Payer On Its Own Clock
Commercial plans, Medicare, Medicaid, and Medicaid managed care all run separate timelines and separate portals. We report status per payer, not as one average.
Get The Payer’s Decision In Writing
Approved and effective aren't the same date. The effective date decides which claims get paid, so we ask for it in writing every time.
FAQ
Credentialing FAQs
How Long Does Provider Credentialing Take?
Most payers take 60 to 120 days from a complete application. Some take longer. The clock doesn’t really start until the application is complete, so the two things that move it most are gathering every document up front and following up regularly.
What Is CAQH And Do We Need It?
The DataSpring Provider Data Portal (formerly CAQH) is the universal credentialing database most commercial payers pull from. Providers have to keep the profile current and re-attest every 120 days, and an un-attested or outdated profile is one of the most common reasons credentialing stalls.
Can A Provider Bill Before Credentialing Is Complete?
As a rule, no. Most payers deny claims for visits before the provider’s in-network effective date. Some backdate to the application date, but many don’t, so hold those claims until the payer confirms enrollment.
Do You Track Attestation Dates?
While we’re working your applications, we track your attestation dates and tell you when your 120-day re-attestation is due. You attest it yourself, and we prepare any paper application for you to sign.
How Many Payers Do I Need?
Two is the minimum. Each payer is priced on its own, up to 10 per provider, and the price builder adds up your setup fee and exactly the payers you pick before you pay.
How Much Does Provider Credentialing Cost?
With AdvanceAPractice it’s a one time setup fee per provider plus $350 to $500 per commercial payer, depending on where you start. Individual Provider Credentialing is $500 setup plus $350 per payer, New Provider Credentialing is $750 setup plus $400 per payer, and Direct Payer Contracting is $1,000 setup plus $500 per payer, with a two payer minimum. Group discounts apply at checkout when you add two or more providers. Each price covers the applications and payer follow up through a written effective date.
What Is The Difference Between Credentialing, Enrollment And Contracting?
Credentialing is the file a payer reviews: your license, DEA where it applies, malpractice coverage and work history. Enrollment puts one provider on a payer’s panel. Contracting is the agreement between a practice’s Tax ID and the payer, which a group needs before its providers can join. A provider joining a clinic that already holds the contract is New Provider Credentialing. A provider enrolling in their own name is Individual Provider Credentialing, and a practice getting contracts of its own is Direct Payer Contracting.
What Happens After I Pay?
Right after you pay, you get an email invitation to the AdvanceAPractice Command Suite, where you review and sign your Order Form, service agreement and BAA. Your onboarding packet follows right after you sign, and we start within three business days of getting it back.
What If Something Goes Wrong?
If something we delivered doesn’t work the way we said it would, tell us within 30 days of delivery and we fix it at no cost. If we can’t fix it, or can’t deliver what you bought, we refund the part it affected.
For PMHNPs
Run A Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner Practice?
We keep a separate hub for PMHNPs that covers billing and coding, credentialing and payer enrollment, and scope of practice by state. Explore the PMHNP hub or PMHNP credentialing.
Want the numbers first? See physician credentialing cost or PMHNP credentialing cost.
Know Where Your Providers Stand.
Launching, hiring or clearing a credentialing backlog? We start by finding out which payers have approved you and which applications are still pending or haven’t gone out yet. Then you get one price for the payers you need. Run a physician or specialty practice? See physician credentialing, including dermatology and cardiology.