Considering Headway, Alma, Or A Similar Network?
A Headway Alternative Built Around Your Own Practice
Keep what makes a network platform appealing (credentialing, billing, payer support and less paperwork), but build it around your own practice instead of working inside someone else’s for good. Our prices are on the page, you keep your own EHR, and you’re building a business you actually own. Contracts in your own name are Direct Payer Contracting, $700 per payer, per provider, and our medical billing is 7% of collections for a solo provider with a $300 monthly minimum, down to 4.5% at 26 or more providers.
The Real Difference
Keep The Support. Build Something You Own.
A network platform like Headway can be a practical way for an individual provider to start accepting insurance without building a billing and credentialing operation from scratch. That’s genuinely useful, especially early on.
But what works for a solo provider getting started often isn’t the best long-term setup for a group practice that’s growing. We run billing, credentialing, the revenue cycle and practice operations for your organization under your own name and tax ID, in the EHR you already use. You see the real numbers, from collections and denials to A/R.
The Economics
“Free To Join” Doesn’t Answer The Whole Financial Question
Headway publicly states that providers don’t pay a membership fee. It also states that the amount it keeps from session payments can vary by health plan and billing code (Headway’s own materials, reviewed July 2026). That can make it genuinely hard to compare the true economics of a network platform against operating through your own practice.
We don’t rely on a one-size-fits-all percentage or make claims about what you’re “really” paying. We use your actual session payouts, service mix, and administrative workload to help you see what each model costs your practice, before you decide anything.
Effective-Cost Estimator
Run Your Own Numbers
Enter what you actually see today and what you’d realistically expect on your own contracts. This is a planning estimate using your inputs, not a quote, and not a promise of any specific payer rate or approval.
Estimate only, based on the numbers you entered. Actual results depend on your payer contracts, approvals, coding, collections, and volume, none of which we can guarantee. Direct contracted rates vary by payer, specialty, geography, and negotiation.
Ask Practice ConciergeSide By Side
Network Platform Vs. Your Own Managed Practice
A fair comparison, based on each company’s publicly described model (Headway’s own materials, reviewed July 2026). Terms change, so we review this quarterly, and we’ll always compare against your actual situation.
| Network Platform (e.g. Headway) | AdvanceAPractice | |
|---|---|---|
| Basic model | Provider network & operating platform | Outsourced billing, credentialing & practice operations for your organization |
| Cost structure | States no membership fee; amount retained can vary by plan & billing code | Published percentage by practice size, from 7% of collections down to 4.5%, with a $300 monthly minimum for a solo provider |
| Payer relationships | Delivered through the platform’s payer arrangements | Enrollment & contracting managed around your own practice, subject to payer approval |
| Billing | Managed through the platform | Fully managed by AdvanceAPractice, in your systems |
| EHR & workflow | Standardized platform & processes | EHR-agnostic; workflows built around your practice |
| Referrals | Marketplace may provide clients | You keep your own referrals; optional growth support |
| Reporting | Platform reporting | Custom financial, credentialing & operational dashboards |
| Ownership | You operate inside their platform | You own the practice, accounts, data, and systems |
| Best suited for | Providers prioritizing fast, low-setup access | Practices prioritizing control, customization & long-term value |
AdvanceAPractice is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Headway, Alma, or any other company named here. All trademarks belong to their respective owners. Comparison based on publicly available information reviewed July 2026 and offered for general educational purposes.
Which Fits You?
Be Honest About Where You Are
A Network Platform May Fit If You…
- Are a solo provider who wants to start accepting insurance quickly
- Don’t want to build any billing or credentialing operation
- Value marketplace referrals over ownership
- Are comfortable operating inside a larger network
Your Own Managed Practice May Fit If You…
- Want payer contracts in your own name, solo or as a group
- Want payer enrollment & revenue cycle organized around your business
- Want to keep your own EHR and workflows
- Want to see your collections, denials, A/R and credentialing status for yourself
- Are building long-term value in something you own
Pricing, Published On Purpose
A Published Percentage, Not An Amount That Shifts By Code
Ongoing Billing is 7% of collections for a solo provider with a $300 monthly minimum, down to 4.5% at 26 or more providers. We write down your rate and what it covers before we start, and hold that rate for a defined period so the economics don’t move on you.
Ongoing Billing
7% to 4.5% of collections, by practice size, with a $300 monthly minimum for a solo provider
Claims, denials, payment posting, A/R follow-up, reconciliation and reporting, worked in your own EHR. It’s half a percentage point less when we also handle your credentialing. See billing prices by practice size.
Transition Off The Platform
$700 per payer to contract on your own
We move credentialing and payers to your own practice, from the group NPI and CAQH/DataSpring to the Tax ID change, EFT/ERA and portals, with follow-up and a written outcome for each payer. If you already hold the payer contracts in your own name, that’s Payer Transition, $500 per payer or $2,500 for five payers. If the platform holds them and they have to be won under your own practice, that’s Direct Payer Contracting, $700 per payer or $3,500 for five payers.
We won’t promise we’re always cheaper, and we won’t promise a payer rate or a credentialing approval. Those stay in the payers’ hands. What we promise is that you’ll see the real numbers before you decide. You can pay for credentialing monthly at the same total, one payment per payer, with no interest.
Leaving A Platform?
A Compliant, Phased Transition: Not A Cliff
Moving off a network is more than changing where claims are submitted. We build a phased plan before you commit to anything:
- Review your current agreement. We help you understand your obligations. (We don’t give legal advice or tell you to break an agreement, get an attorney when appropriate.)
- Line up credentialing and payer contracts under your own practice, with an effective date from each payer before you move a client.
- Protect continuity of care and your providers’ income during the move.
- Stand up billing and payments in your own systems, from the clearinghouse to EFT/ERA.
- Sequence the cutover payer by payer so nothing stops paying.
Request A Side-By-Side Review
Bring us your provider count, service mix, and current payout information. We’ll help you figure out whether staying put or building something you own makes better business sense. No pressure and no big pitch. We reply by email within one business day.
Prefer To Just Ask?
Our Practice Concierge can answer questions about how a transition works, what’s included, and pricing, instantly, any time.
Common Questions
Headway Alternative FAQ
Is AdvanceAPractice Affiliated With Headway?
No. AdvanceAPractice is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Headway. Headway is a separate company and its trademarks belong to their owner. We reference it only for honest comparison.
Is Headway Bad For Providers?
Not necessarily. For a solo provider who wants fast, low-setup access to insurance, it can be useful. The better question is whether a network model still fits your practice as you grow and whether the economics and control work in your favor long-term.
Does Headway Charge Providers 15%?
Headway doesn’t publish one universal percentage that applies to every provider, payer, and billing code; it states the amount it retains can vary. Rather than rely on a generalized number, we compare your actual payouts and workload against an independently managed model.
Can I Terminate My Headway Agreement?
Headway states that providers can terminate their agreement, though contractual and transition provisions may apply, especially regarding clients obtained through its marketplace. Review your agreement and get legal advice when appropriate before moving clients or changing billing.
Will I Have To Change EHRs?
Usually not. We’re EHR-agnostic, and we work in the system you already use as long as it can handle your workflow.
Can You Credential My Providers Directly?
Yes. We handle credentialing, payer enrollment and contracting support for whatever structure you choose. The payer still decides. Participation depends on its requirements, whether its network is open and its final approval, and we can’t promise that on anyone’s behalf.
See What It Would Cost Your Practice
Every service has a published price and a written scope. Not sure which one fits? Ask, and we’ll point you to the right one.