What each company does
Headway helps clinicians participate in insurance networks, submit claims and receive payment. It also offers a free electronic health record system, or EHR. Headway says its insurance arrangements fund the business.
Cortexa Full Service Partner supports the independent practice you are building. We can handle front desk, inquiry follow-up, intake, billing and payroll, alongside analytics and growth support. Cortexa is the stronger fit when you need help across the practice, including work outside a network platform.
Your website inquiries, scheduling questions, unpaid bills and hiring plans still need someone to follow through. Cortexa’s Full Service Partner membership puts agreed responsibilities with a team, so they do not all return to you.
Who handles which work?
Headway connects clinicians to its insurance network. Cortexa Full Service Partner handles day-to-day work for your independent practice.
| What you need | Headway | Cortexa Full Service Partner |
|---|---|---|
| Insurance access | Through Headway’s network | Your chosen insurance arrangements |
| Insurance billed under | Headway’s billing organization | Your practice, for your own contracts |
| Billing coverage | Eligible sessions through Headway | Insurance and private pay, within agreed scope |
| Front desk | Clinician tools; you manage wider intake | We handle inquiries, scheduling and follow-up |
| Practice reporting | Activity handled through Headway | Sessions, caseloads, availability and revenue |
| Growth | Platform referrals | Your brand, marketing and referral relationships |
| Cost | Compare your payout per session | Service fee agreed with your practice |
Owning your practice is different from holding an insurance contract
Joining Headway does not mean it owns your business. The important detail is whose insurance arrangement you use. Clinicians join using their Type 1 NPI, their individual provider number. Headway bills under its Type 2 NPI, the number identifying Headway as the billing organization. Joining does not change insurance approvals you already hold independently.
You still own your practice, but some income may depend on the Headway arrangement. If you leave, do not assume its insurance access or rates transfer to you. Your practice may need its own insurance application and contract. Its tax identification number, or TIN, identifies the business for tax and billing purposes; it is different from an NPI.
Cortexa supports your brand, team, client relationships and business decisions. We do not set an insurer’s rates. Your insurance contract governs payment for care. Your Cortexa agreement sets the work we do and the fee you pay us.
Compare what reaches your practice after costs
The payout is the money Headway pays your practice for a session. Headway negotiates with insurers, sets provider payouts and keeps a variable amount to fund its work. The amount varies by insurance plan and CPT code, which identifies the service provided. Free software does not mean the full insurer payment reaches your practice.
Compare Headway’s quoted payout with what you receive under your own contracts. Then subtract the costs you still pay, such as billing support, payment processing and staff time. A quoted Headway payout already reflects what Headway keeps; subtracting another assumed percentage would count that cost twice.
For a Cortexa proposal, ask which work the service fee covers, which payments it applies to, and which costs remain yours. This shows the money left after costs and the work taken off your desk. It is more useful than comparing a software price alone.
What happens to work outside Headway?
Imagine a practice seeing Headway clients, clients covered by its own insurance contracts, and clients who pay privately. The owner needs to know who is waiting for an appointment, which clinicians have openings and which bills remain unpaid across all three groups.
Cortexa can handle agreed tasks across the practice. For example, we can coordinate an inquiry while the relevant platform processes its own claim. The resulting payment is then checked against the practice’s records. Each session has one billing route, so it is not submitted twice.
Decide who answers insurance questions, follows up on your own unpaid claims and investigates payments that do not match your records. Those responsibilities continue even when a network handles part of your billing.
Before moving clients, check the agreement
Read the current agreement for how rates or terms can change, how you will be notified, and what happens if you leave. You can find Headway’s provider agreement and additional terms in its portal.
- Get the payout for your clinicians’ actual states, licenses, insurers and services. Compare the same service in each offer.
- Ask how a change to payment or participation terms is communicated, when it takes effect, and what options you have.
- Separate clients you introduced from referrals received through the platform when reviewing transition provisions.
- Confirm responsibility for open claims, balances, records and client communications if the relationship ends.
- If you employ associates, confirm eligibility by state and insurer. Headway has described a supervised-billing pilot; availability is not universal.
The decision for an independent group owner
If your main obstacle is participating in the right insurance networks, assess Headway’s actual offer. If your obstacle is running a growing practice while still providing clinical care and supervision, start with Cortexa. You need support for the business around the sessions, including the work that never enters a network portal.
Common questions
Is Cortexa a replacement for Headway’s insurance network?
No. Cortexa is an analytics and practice support partner for independent practices. If you depend on Headway for network participation, evaluate that access to insurers separately from outsourcing front desk, intake or billing work.
Can an independent practice use Headway and Cortexa together?
Yes, where the agreed work and account access allow it. Headway handles claims through its network; Cortexa can take on other agreed practice tasks. Specify who submits each bill and checks the payment so nothing is billed twice.
Does Headway own the clients I bring?
Headway’s public agreement-update article says clients you bring can leave with you, and distinguishes them from caseloads built through Headway referrals. Review the current signed agreement and a transition plan rather than treating all client situations alike.
Does Cortexa guarantee higher payment?
No. Insurance payment depends on the applicable contracts and services. Cortexa’s role is to support the practice operation; its service fee is separate from the insurer’s payment.
What happens to billing outside Headway?
Assign someone to bills and balances outside Headway. Headway also supports private-pay clients, so check which sessions it handles and which remain in your systems. Cortexa can take on the additional billing work included in your agreement.