Insurance: Insurance Payers

Insurance payers are the insurance companies that provide coverage for your clients. To submit electronic claims, Sessions Health needs to know where to route them. You set this up by assigning a Payer ID to each payer in your account.

This guide covers adding new payers, finding correct Payer IDs, handling policies entered by clients, and optionally consolidating duplicate payers.

In this article

Video Tutorial


Watch the video below for a step-by-step walkthrough of setting up and managing your insurance payers.

Adding a New Payer


You can add an insurance payer from Billing Settings or directly inside a client's chart.


From Billing Settings:

  1. Go to Billing Settings > Insurance > Payers.
  2. Click + Add.
  3. Enter the insurance company's name in the Name field.
  4. Click Payer ID to search for and select the correct Payer ID.
  5. Choose the Insurance Type from the dropdown menu.
  6. Fill out any optional details (address, phone number)
  7. Click Save.

Sessions Health Payers screen under Billing Settings > Insurance > Payers tab, with an arrow pointing to the '+ Add' button.


From a Client Chart:

  1. Open the client chart and go to Billing > Settings.
  2. Scroll to Insurance and click Add Policy.
  3. Click the Payer dropdown and select + Add Payer at the bottom.
  4. Enter the Name, Payer ID, and Insurance Type.
  5. Click Save.

Animated GIF demonstrating how to click Add Policy in a client chart and select + Add Payer from the dropdown menu.

Managing Payers Added by Clients in the Portal


When clients enter insurance details through the Client Portal, the system will not automatically know the matching Payer ID. These entries display a red Needs Payer badge in the client's billing settings.

  1. Open the client chart and go to Billing > Settings.
  2. Scroll to Insurance to locate the red Needs Payer badge.
  3. Click Edit on the policy.
  4. Click the Payer dropdown.
  5. Select the matching payer from your account list (or click + Add Payer to create it).
  6. Click Save to assign the Payer ID and clear the warning badge.

Insurance section in a client chart showing an insurance policy with a blue outline highlighting the 'Needs Payer' badge, and the three-dot menu open to display the Edit option.

Adding Payer IDs to Existing Payers


If your account contains imported payers missing a Payer ID, you must add the ID before submitting claims.

  1. Go to Billing Settings > Insurance > Payers.
  2. Locate any payer marked No Payer ID and click the pencil icon.
  3. Enter the Payer ID or insurance name in the Payer ID field.
  4. Select the correct option from the dropdown menu.
  5. Click Save.

Payers table showing an insurance payer entry marked with No Payer ID, with a blue arrow pointing to the pencil edit icon.

ℹ️  Assigning a Payer ID to imported or duplicate entries will not interrupt pending electronic enrollments or force you to re-enroll. Enrollments sync to the clearinghouse using the Payer ID and your Tax ID/NPI, so Claim.MD recognizes them as the same connection.

💡 If a client import created duplicate payers (e.g., "BCBS MN" and "Blue Cross Blue Shield Minnesota"), simply assign the same Payer ID to both entries. You don't need to clean up duplicate rows to submit claims.

Finding the Correct Payer ID


Payer IDs vary by clearinghouse. Sessions Health uses Claim.MD as our clearinghouse, which provides a searchable Payer List.

  1. Go to the Claim.MD Payer Search website.
  2. Enter the Payer ID or insurance name in the search bar.
  3. Click View Payer to open details.
  4. Confirm that Professional/1500 Claims displays "Yes".

Claim.MD payer details page with a blue box highlighting the checkmark next to Professional/1500 Claims.

ℹ️ The Payer ID on a client's insurance card may differ from Claim.MD's ID. When searching Claim.MD, review the "also known as" list on the details page to confirm you have selected the correct matching entry.

Consolidating Duplicate Payers (Optional)


If you prefer a clean payer list, you can merge duplicate listings by reassigning clients to a main "keeper" payer.

💡 If you have dozens of clients assigned to a duplicate payer, editing each chart manually can take time. Remember that consolidating duplicate payers is completely optional! Assigning the same Payer ID to both duplicate entries lets your electronic claims process without changing individual client charts.

Step 1: Identify the Payer to Keep

  1. Go to Billing Settings > Insurance > Payers.
  2. Check the Policies column to identify which duplicate payer name has the most policies (your main "keeper" payer) and which entry has fewer.

Payers table with a blue box outlining the Policies column to compare policy counts, and a blue arrow pointing to the entry with 9 policies labeled 'Policy to keep'.


Step 2: Find Clients Needing Updates

  1. Go to Insights > Reports > Clients.
  2. Click Filter and set the Primary Payer or Secondary Payer filter to the duplicate payer you plan to remove.

Clients report page with the Filter dropdown open, featuring a blue arrow pointing to the Primary Payer field labeled 'Filter by policy to remove'.


Step 3: Update Each Client's Payer

  1. Click a client's name from the report to open their chart.
  2. Go to Billing > Settings, scroll to Insurance, and click Edit.
  3. Update the Payer field to your main "keeper" payer and click Save.
  4. Repeat for all remaining clients listed under that duplicate payer.

See Insurance: Managing Client Insurance Policies for more information.


Step 4: Delete the Duplicate Payer

  1. Return to Billing Settings > Insurance > Payers. The duplicate entry will now show 0 policies.
  2. Click the trash icon next to the 0-policy payer to delete it.

Frequently Asked Questions


Do I have to clean up my duplicate payers?

No. Consolidating duplicates is entirely optional. Assigning the same Payer ID to duplicate entries allows claims to process without changing individual client charts.


Will consolidating duplicates affect my pending insurance enrollments?

No. Claims and remittance enrollments attach to your underlying Payer ID and Tax ID/NPI. Moving clients to a main payer row will not interrupt pending or approved enrollments.


How do I check if a specific payer is supported for electronic claims?

Search the Claim.MD Payer List for the payer name. If Professional/1500 Claims shows "Yes", you can submit claims through Sessions Health.


Why doesn't the Payer ID on my client's card match Claim.MD?

Clearinghouses often use internal Payer IDs. Cross-reference the ID from the client's card against the "also known as" list on Claim.MD's payer details page.


Use these additional guides to complete your insurance configuration:

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