Leaving Headway, Alma or Grow: How to Keep Your Clients and Your Income

On Headway, Alma and Grow, you are in network through the platform's own agreements with insurance companies, not your own. When you leave, that in-network status stays with the platform. So the safe order is to get credentialed under your own contracts first, then leave. Credentialing usually takes 60 to 90 days with each insurance company, so start about three months before your planned exit.

By Nasar Haq, Founder and CEO, Medtransic. Last reviewed 2026-10-03.

Why your in-network status does not come with you

Each platform says in its own help center that you are credentialed through its agreements with insurers. Grow is the most direct. Asked "If I leave Grow, do I keep my enrollment status?", its help center answers: "No, your enrollment status won't transfer outside of Grow."

Headway says it "credentials providers directly through its own payer agreements, which are separate from any carrier relationships you may have independently." Alma says its credentialing puts members in network "under Alma's tax ID."

In practice, that means leaving a platform without contracts of your own leaves you out of network with every insurer at once. Your clients' insurance still works, but not with you, until your own credentialing is done.

Why therapists are leaving

The most common reason we hear is pay. Platform rates are set through the platform's agreements, and they can change. Behavioral Health Business reported that Aetna lowered the rates it pays therapists through Alma, effective July 15, 2026, including paying the same for sessions of 53 minutes or more as for 37 to 52 minute sessions.

We see it in our own work. One therapist we work with is leaving Headway because the rates kept dropping. We are building her practice website and getting her credentialed under her own contracts, and she is handling her exit from the platform herself.

Will you make more on your own contracts?

Often, but not always. A platform's negotiated rate can be higher than what an insurer first offers a new solo practice, so compare real numbers before you decide.

  1. Write down what the platform pays you

    For your three or four most common insurers, note what you are paid per session type today.

  2. Find what each insurer pays you directly

    Ask each insurer for its fee schedule for your license type in your state before you sign a contract, so you are comparing real numbers.

  3. Subtract what doing it yourself costs

    Billing (for example, 4-8% of collections if you outsource it), credentialing ($150 per application, per provider with Medtransic), and practice software.

  4. Compare the totals

    If your own contracts still pay more after those costs, leaving makes financial sense. If not, staying may be the better choice for now.

Worked example (example numbers, not real rates)Per session
Platform pays you$100
Your own contract pays$120
Billing fee at 6% of $120-$7.20
You keep on your own contract$112.80

A 90-day plan for leaving

  1. Pick your insurers (week 1)

    Start with the insurers most of your current clients use. You do not have to join every panel on day one.

  2. Set up your practice basics (week 1)

    Your own individual NPI, which is free, and a tax ID for your practice. If your practice is a corporation, LLC or group, it usually needs its own organization NPI too; a sole proprietor uses only the individual one. Update your CAQH profile (now the CAQH Provider Data Portal) so it shows your own practice.

  3. Submit your applications (weeks 1 to 2)

    File with each insurer at the same time, not one after another. Every week of delay is a week later you can bill.

  4. Set up billing and software (weeks 2 to 8)

    Choose practice software such as SimplePractice or TherapyNotes, set up claims submission, and decide who handles billing.

  5. Follow up until you have effective dates (days 30 to 90)

    Insurers quote about 45 to 90 days after they receive a complete application, and they stall on missing details. Weekly follow-up is what keeps applications moving.

  6. Move clients as each contract goes live

    Once an insurer confirms your effective date, clients with that insurance can move to your practice. Read your platform agreement for notice and client terms before you give notice.

What changes when you bill on your own

On a platform, claims are handled for you. On your own contracts, someone has to do that work, whether that is you or a billing service.

How Medtransic helps

We credential you with your chosen insurers before you leave, at $150 per application, per provider, and track every application to an effective date in your client portal. Once your contracts are live, we can bill for you at 4-8% of collections, inside SimplePractice, TherapyNotes or the software you choose, with no long-term contract.

For a new practice, our practice launch package also covers your website and getting set up with insurance. Leaving the platform itself stays your decision and your process.

Leave-a-platform checklist

Work through these in order. Print this list or save it as a PDF.

  1. List the insurers most of your clients use
  2. Note what the platform pays you for each session type, per insurer
  3. Get your own individual NPI (free) and a tax ID for your practice
  4. Get an organization NPI if your practice is a corporation, LLC or group
  5. Update your CAQH Provider Data Portal profile with your own practice details, and re-attest every 120 days
  6. Submit credentialing applications to each insurer at the same time
  7. Ask each insurer for its fee schedule before signing
  8. Compare platform pay with direct rates after billing costs
  9. Choose your practice software and how billing will be handled
  10. Read your platform agreement for notice periods and client terms
  11. Record each insurer's effective date before moving clients
  12. Tell clients what changes for them: intake forms, billing, portal

Common questions

Can I keep my in-network status when I leave a platform?

Generally no. Grow says plainly that your enrollment status won't transfer outside of Grow, Alma credentials members under Alma's tax ID, and Headway credentials through its own payer agreements. You need contracts of your own.

How long does it take to get my own insurance contracts?

Usually 60 to 90 days with each insurer. Start about three months before you plan to leave the platform.

Can I keep seeing clients on the platform while I get credentialed?

That depends on your platform agreement, so read it before you start. Headway, for example, says credentialing you hold on your own is separate from its own process.

Can my clients come with me?

Clients choose their therapist. Check your platform agreement for any notice or client terms, and once your own contract with a client's insurer is live, they can continue with you at your practice.

How much does it cost to get credentialed on my own?

Getting an NPI is free, and the CAQH Provider Data Portal is free for clinicians. Medtransic charges $150 per application, per provider, to file and follow up on each insurer application.

Can I take Medicare clients on my own?

Since January 1, 2024, licensed marriage and family therapists and mental health counselors can enroll in Medicare and bill on their own, through PECOS. Medicare pays them 75% of the clinical psychologist rate.

Will I make more money on my own contracts?

Often, but not always. Compare what the platform pays you with what each insurer offers you directly, minus billing and software costs, before you decide.

Sources

Related

Start your own credentialing before you leave

We file and follow up on every insurer application at $150 per application, per provider, and show you each one's status in your client portal. Call (888) 777-0860 or book a free revenue audit.