Why am I charged and why do I have to provide my payment information?

If you receive Talkspace services through an EAP, your account should not incur any charges from us. If you notice unexpected charges:

• Double check your plan details to confirm that you're enrolled under the correct coverage. If there's any uncertainty about your coverage, confirm with your EAP representative. To update your coverage, follow the steps in How do I apply/update my coverage?
• Verify that you don't have multiple rooms created under different coverages or payment methods.

If you have health plan coverage, no amount is due at signup; however charges may be applied after your session(s) based on your benefits. Common reasons for them include:

• $10 Hold Charge: This charge is initiated when you're added to our provider matching waitlist, ensuring prompt matching as soon as a provider becomes available. The fee is not collected and will typically be removed within 3-7 business days. A message about this hold charge is shown on our checkout page before finalizing the details of your account. 
  
• Enrollment in Subscription-Based Therapy or Out-of-Pocket Psychiatry: You may encounter unexpected charges if you mistakenly enrolled into a self-pay plan or subscription. While we cannot refund charges associated with services rendered, you can download a superbill from your account for potential reimbursement from your insurance, FSA, or HSA provider. If you wish to discontinue paying out of pocket, please ensure Talkspace is in network with your health plan and update your coverage by following the steps in How do I apply/update my coverage?
• Cost-Share: Your health plan cost-share, such as copays, deductibles, and/or coinsurance apply similar to an in-person visit. For definitions of these insurance terms, check out this guide: Understanding Your Insurance Policy and Cost-Share. Talkspace does not have access to your individual health plan benefits and cannot confirm your final costs before a claim processes, so please check with your health plan provider before starting services at Talkspace for cost details.
  

  If applicable, a copay is collected at the time of a live or asynchronous messaging session. Once a session is completed, we submit a claim to your insurance provider and they'll assess whether there's an additional cost-share owed. In the event that your cost-share is found to be higher, the additional fee minus the copay already paid will be charged to your default payment method within approximately 30 days after your session. If your cost-share is lower, we'll you refund the difference within this same time period.

• Health Plan Changes: Changes often happen at the beginning of a new year or after a benefits enrollment period. Reach out to your health plan provider directly to review your benefits, including copays, deductibles, and/or coinsurance. Again, Talkspace does not have access to your individual health plan benefits and will not be able to provide you with this information.
• Multiple Sessions: Depending on when the claims are processed and whether they're processed together, you may receive multiple charges on a singular invoice, resulting in a higher total payment. The invoice should include a breakdown of charges along with their respective dates of service. If you prefer to receive separate invoices, each listing only one charge at a time, please submit a support request.
• Late Cancellation Fees: Sessions that are rescheduled or canceled less than 24 hours before the scheduled session, as well as instances of no-shows, may be subject to a charge of $125 (therapy) or $175 (psychiatry). To avoid this, ensure to cancel or reschedule at least 24 hours before your scheduled session.
  In the case of an unexpected situation preventing your attendance or if you've missed a session, please send a message to your provider in your room to let them know, and request that they waive this fee. Please note that the decision to waive the charge is at the discretion of the provider.

If you're covered through an employer or city, no charges should be incurred unless you decide to purchase additional live sessions ($65 per session) after exhausting all your monthly or yearly sessions.

Our therapy plans are subscription-based, and you are billed automatically on either a monthly, quarterly, or biannual basis, depending on the frequency you selected when you signed up. We're afraid we're not able to provide billing invoices or turn off auto billing at this time. For details on your plan cycle, take a look at What is included in my Talkspace plan? Keep in mind that billing starts upon matching with a provider.

Tips to get the most out of your included live sessions, if you have them: As part of your subscription, you're able to meet with your provider up to 4 times per month; if you are not able to meet, the unused sessions do not carry over to the next month if not used. We recommend discussing availability with your provider and scheduling your sessions at the start of your billing month. For longer meeting times, you can schedule back-to-back sessions if your provider has the availability. Note: you'll have to leave the initial session to join the other session when it's time for your second session.

If there are other charges associated with your account, the reasons could be:

• Purchase of a Live Credit: A charge may occur if you purchase a $65 live credit during scheduling; all our therapy subscription plans provide the option to buy individual live sessions as an option for more time with your provider.
• $10 Hold Charge: This is a temporary hold charge to ensure we match you with a provider as soon as one becomes available. This amount is not collected and will be removed within 3-7 business days.