Cortexa vs. TheraThink: billing service or full operations team?

Where Cortexa fits

Cortexa is an operations team for independent therapy practices that runs the front desk, intake, billing, credentialing and payroll as one team. Billing runs about 3% of what you collect, and the front desk, intake and billing together about 6%. There's no long-term contract, and there's a 30-day money-back guarantee.

With Cortexa running billing, collections went from 82% to 97% of billed revenue. On $120,000 billed a month, 15 points is $18,000, three times a 6% fee on $100,000 collected. See whether it pays for itself with your numbers.

What each company does

TheraThink is a Seattle mental health billing service that works only with licensed mental health professionals and groups. It files claims daily, verifies eligibility and benefits within two business days, and works rejections, denials and appeals until claims are paid. It records each EOB and sends patient statements. It also offers out-of-network billing, credentialing at a fixed price per application, appointment reminders, a calendar and an online portal with claim status. Each provider gets an admin as a point of contact. A membership can include answering the practice's phone and inquiries, intake and clinician matching, and filing claims and following them until they're paid. It can also include credentialing and payroll from session data. Practice Analytics is included, so you can see sessions, revenue and where each inquiry is in the pipeline.

The two start in different places. You notify TheraThink about a new client, and it checks eligibility. With Cortexa, the work can start at the first call or inquiry, because the membership can cover the front desk and intake as well.

Side by side

This table uses TheraThink's own pages and Cortexa's published scope. Each Cortexa membership is scoped to the practice, so the Cortexa column shows what a membership can include.

When TheraThink is the better choice

TheraThink is the better choice when billing is the only work you want off your desk.

That often means a solo clinician or small practice where the owner or front desk already collects accurate insurance details. TheraThink charges only on paid claims, has no startup fee or per-claim submission fee, and runs month-to-month with a free 30-day trial. You get an assigned admin, a portal with claim status and, if you want it, its own EHR software. If that's the help you're missing, a full operations team is more than you need.

• You run intake and scheduling yourself, and they work well.
• You want a percentage fee tied to paid claims.
• You'd like to try a biller for 30 days before committing.
• You don't need help with the front desk or payroll.

When Cortexa is the better choice

Cortexa is the better choice when your billing problems start before the claim. It also fits when the owner is still the one keeping intake, credentialing and payroll running.

• Inquiries wait for a call back, and new clients arrive with insurance details nobody has checked.
• You employ pre-licensed clinicians and need supervisory or incident-to billing set up under your payer contracts.
• You pay clinicians by session and want pay calculated from session data in your EHR.
• You're adding clinicians and need credentialing managed, with contracts staying in your practice's name.
• You want one team accountable from the first call to the paid claim, and you want to check any claim's status on your dashboard.

What changes when intake and billing sit with one team

When intake and billing sit with one team, the details a claim depends on are checked by the people who later file it. Take a new client who calls on a Monday. With a billing-only service, your staff take the call, book the session and send the client's insurance details to the biller. TheraThink's FAQ describes this step, and TheraThink verifies benefits within two business days. If the plan is out of network or the member ID was typed wrong, the practice finds out before the session or at the first claim. With Cortexa running intake, we answer the call, verify eligibility and in-network status, and give out-of-network and self-pay clients an estimate of their cost. The same team files the claim after the session and follows it until it's paid. The better fit depends on whether your own staff already run that handoff well.

How the pricing compares

TheraThink publishes its price, and Cortexa agrees a price with each practice before starting.

TheraThink charges 6.5% to 8% of the contracted rate or allowed amount, only on paid claims. It adds $35 a month for each tax ID and rendering NPI in months when it submits claims. It doesn't charge that fee when it would be under 5% of your invoice. It has no startup fee and no per-claim submission fee. Its pricing page gives an example. A session with a $150 full fee and a $60 allowed amount is charged 8% of $60, which is $4.80. Groups of two or more providers are asked to request group rates.

Cortexa charges about 3% of what you collect for billing, and about 6% for the front desk, intake and billing together. We agree the exact scope and rate before you start. Practice Analytics is included at no extra cost, and it costs $50 a month on its own. Credentialing is passed through at our actual documented cost. To compare fairly, add what you pay for billing today to the staff time your practice spends on phones, intake, credentialing and payroll. Our billing cost guide shows how to compare fee bases.