Briefings
Six standing briefings, compiled from public sources in August 2026 and updated as events warrant. Company-specific events also appear on the dated timelines of the company pages.
- Medicare’s 2027 fee scheduleFinal rule: the conversion factor falls 2.31% while psychotherapy codes rise 9% to 14%. 90837 goes to $183.37. Final amounts at 100%, 85% and 75%, and what a 99214 with a 90833 pays in 2027.
- G2211 becomes a 16% modifierMedicare replaces the flat G2211 add-on with modifier B1 at 16% of the office visit in 2027, which lowers a 99213 with the complexity payment by $5.83 and raises a 99215 by $2.95.
- Medicare telehealth in 2027The in-person visit requirement for Medicare tele-mental-health is delayed until January 1, 2028, audio-only continues through December 31, 2027, and modifiers BB and BC are required from January 1, 2027.
- Lyra Engage becomes mandatoryTherapists report notes for clients starting November 10 must be kept in Lyra’s own platform, with Lyra as custodian of records. What is reported, what is unconfirmed, and reported Lyra rates.
- Headway’s paused provider agreementSent October 15 with a November 17 deadline, paused a day later. What the withdrawn contract said, what the pause covers, and Headway against a direct contract by payer.
- Headway’s marketplace fee$9.99 off every session with a client Headway connects you with, for as long as they stay. Rolling out state by state, with no start date in Headway’s article since November 2. Terms as revised October 16, what Headway told clinicians, and how therapists responded.
- Headway’s fee: the opt-out decision8.4% of a reported 90837, $4,495.50 a year on ten weekly marketplace clients. What opting out does, what the direct link exempts, and three positions a therapist can defend.
- Aetna’s Alma rate cutThe May notice, the July partial reversal, and what therapists report being paid since August 15.
- Illinois rate floorA new state law sets a minimum for in-network therapy payments from 2027. Who it covers, who it excludes, and what it means for 90837.
- Dual agencyThe company paying for the session increasingly directs it: session-count reviews, outlier algorithms, and insurer equity in the platforms, with the ethics literature.
- The insurer on both sidesPayers set therapy rates while owning practices and holding platform equity. What STAT documented, and what rate reports show.
- Platform economicsHow the money flows: spreads, membership fees, the 2024 and 2026 rate cuts, and why clinicians join anyway.
- Payer practicesClawbacks, audits, pre-payment review, supervisory billing, and the Senate ghost-network study.
- Data and AI policiesThe BetterHelp FTC settlement, Talkspace's LLM disclosure, transcript retention, and identity-verification requirements.
- Ownership and consolidationPrivate-equity and insurer acquisitions in behavioral health, and what published research finds.