How do I schedule an appointment?

To schedule an initial appointment with Dr. Legha, first go to the Clinical Care webpage and complete the online form. After submitting the online form, Dr. Legha’s practice manager will reach out to you provide you with logistical details pertaining to scheduling and billing. They will also help you schedule a 15-minute call to see whether her services are a good fit. During this 15-minute call, Dr. Legha will inquire about what you are seeking and answer any questions. If you decide to move forward, she and her team will work with you to schedule an initial appointment, which usually takes 90 minutes to 2 hours. Prior to your initial intake, your patient portal will be set up through Luminello, a HIPAA-compliant electronic medical record that coordinates scheduling, billing, and appointments. You will be sent a series of forms, including consent to treatment, policies, and a notice of privacy practices. All of these forms, along with payment, will be coordinated through the Luminello platform, prior to your initial appointment. Follow-up appointments, which usually last 45-50 minutes, will be scheduled during sessions with Dr. Legha. Dr. Legha rarely does 30-minute sessions for follow-up care.

How do I arrange payment?

Payment is made through the Luminello platform using a credit card (MasterCard, Visa, American Express, and Discover). Payment is expected at the time services are scheduled. Dr. Legha does not accept insurance of any kind. Any insurance company that lists her as an in-network provider is mistaken. However, after payment is received, a receipt called a superbill can be generated for you to submit to your insurance company. This document includes critical pieces of information, including what are called CPT codes and diagnostic codes, which insurance companies use for billing. After you submit this superbill to your insurance, they will arrange reimbursement. Your insurance company will mail you a check for the portion of the fee that they reimburse.  The insurance company and doctor do not communicate directly, leaving control and privacy in your hands.  

How much insurance will cover?

Unfortunately, predicting how much insurance will cover prior to a care encounter is impossible. We can only be certain of what insurance will cover AFTER the session is completed and your transaction is processed. Some insurance companies are generous with their coverage for out-of-network psychiatrists. Others are not.

Dr. Legha recommends calling your insurance company and asking the following questions pertaining to 1) the number of sessions covered for specific billing codes and 2) the reimbursement amount for each session pertaining to a particular billing code—both for an out-of-network psychiatrist.

You can say: “I would like to check the reimbursement rates for an out-of-network child and adolescent and adult psychiatrist I am interested in seeing. Can you please tell me the following? 1) How many 90792s are covered each year? One, two, or three? What is the reimbursement amount for a 90792 provided by an out-of-network psychiatrist?” The 90792 billing code is almost always the billing code for the first 1-3 sessions of a psychiatric assessment.

Dr. Legha recommends that you ask the same questions for a 99213, 99214, and 99215 (which are all standard psychiatric billing codes for medication management sessions). You should also ask about 99213 + 90836, 99214 + 90836, and 99215 + 90836, all of which are medication management sessions plus psychotherapy, as well as 90832, 90834, and 90837, all of which are billing codes for psychotherapy alone.

Dr. Legha also frequently uses 90846 and 90847 (family therapy sessions); 90839 and 90839 + 90840 (psychotherapy for crises); and 90889 (report preparation) and 90887 (treatment team collaboration). So, it is worth inquiring about these codes, too.

Sometimes the numbers insurance quotes are reliable, other times they are not. Truly, nothing can be predicted, and certainty can only be guaranteed after the session. However, asking these questions might help clarify whether insurance covers anything at all.

How much should I budget for care if it’s not possible to know what insurance will cover?

Dr. Legha recommends ensuring you have adequate funds for at least 3-5 sessions to get good care up and running. After the initial 3-5 sessions needed to get care up and running, some individuals see her weekly for months at a time. Other individuals begin care intensively with 7-9 hours of care in the first month, perhaps to prevent hospitalization or to ensure multiple family members are fully involved, before tapering down to less frequent sessions. Some people see her for 3 sessions to do a good assessment before transitioning to another provider who can do weekly therapy at a more affordable rate. Other people will continue to see their therapist weekly and meet with Dr. Legha once a month or once every three months after the initial 3-5 sessions to get care up and running. Children with unique needs pertaining to school, medical conditions, trauma, and family (including parents who are separated or divorced) can require up to 3-4 hours of care (or more) each week if their needs are urgent or acute. Dr. Legha offers complete transparency about the fees involved so families can budget appropriately. She also works closely with clients to create a treatment team that utilizes financial and other resources as optimally as possible. All of this attention to finances is part of the good faith estimate Dr. Legha provides.

If this cost of her services represents a significant stress, Dr. Legha recommends pursuing care through more affordable options, for example an in-network psychiatrist covered by insurance, a primary care provider, or one of the growing number of online psychiatrist platforms.

How Does Dr. Legha ensure confidentiality?

Patient care is provided through Luminello (electronic medical record, scheduling, payment, patient communication) and doxy.me (televideo), both of which are HIPAA-compliant. Dr. Legha’s phone number and voicemail are also HIPAA-compliant. She does not communicate with patients via email, as this is not a HIPAA-compliant outlet. Instead, she recommends sending messages through Luminello. Complete details regarding privacy, confidentiality, and their limitations are available through Dr. Legha’s notice of privacy practices.

Where will I see Dr. Legha?

Dr. Legha sees the majority of her patients virtually using doxy.me. She does periodically see people in person in West LA. For clients in Colorado, New Mexico, New York, and New Jersey, she is not able to meet in person presently and only can see them virtually. She offers a specialized in-home consultation service in Los Angeles, as well. Please inquire directly with Dr. Legha about this unique specialty service.

Will Dr. Legha give me a stimulant, benzodiazepine, or Suboxone?

Benzodiazepines (e.g. Valium, Ativan, and Klonopin) and stimulants (e.g. Ritalin, Adderall, Concerta, and Vyvanse) are heavily regulated, controlled medications that the United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) oversees.. This regulation involves Dr. Legha having to check a national database anytime she prescribed these two medications. Dr. Legha specializes in diagnosing and treating attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children and adults, and she does routinely prescribe stimulant medications for its treatment. Because benzodiazepine medications carry significant risk for dependence and many other side effects, Dr. Legha very, very rarely prescribes them. Dr. Legha does not have the specialty training required to prescribe Suboxone.

For clients in Colorado, New York, and New Jersey, Dr. Legha does not have a DEA license to prescribe benzodiazepines or stimulants there. She can, however, write a letter of support for a primary care doctor or other medical provider to prescribe this medication.

Seeing Dr. Legha does not guarantee receiving a benzodiazepine or stimulant prescription. If you are pursuing psychiatric services for the sole purpose of receiving either of these medications, please seek care from another psychiatrist.

How long will it take for me to see Dr. Legha?

Dr. Legha can generally see people immediately, meaning within several days and almost always within one week. Unlike other practices, she does not let people wait weeks or months, as they are often reaching out to her when the need is great. After completing an initial 15-minute call, the remaining steps that need to be completed before meeting include completing paperwork, uploading a credit card to Luminello for payment, and scheduling an appointment time.