1. Who receives speech therapy at our practice?

Currently we work with adult and pediatric clients who need speech, voice, or swallowing therapy. They range from individuals who were recently discharged from a hospital after acute medical conditions to ones who desire to further improve residual speech and swallowing deficits. We address speech, language, cognition, voice, and swallowing impairments that are associated with various medical conditions including stroke, TBI, dementia, respiratory distress, Parkinson’s, and other neurogenic disorders.

2. Do we see children for therapy?

As of now, we see children in K-6 for assessments and therapy for speech sound disorders, voice disorders, reading difficulties, and other language impairments. We use a list of pediatric private practices when we need to refer out some young clients to ones with more experiences in particular diagnoses. Special programs for pediatric clients include LSVT Loud Pediatric, Melodic Based Communication Therapy, and PROMPT.

3. Which States are we licensed in?

Our clinic is based in Carrollton, Texas but Dr. Chung is licensed both in Texas and California. Therefore, she is able to provide teletherapy services to clients who reside in California. For now, she offers teletherapy services to clients in California with Medicare as she can bill Medicare locally.

4. Do we offer teletherapy?

Currently, we see most of clients in person per their preferences but we offer teletherapy to some clients in Texas via HIPAA compliant platform.

5. Do we offer specialized programs for Parkinson’s speech and voice?

Yes, we do. We offer SPEAK OUT!® for individuals with Parkinson’s disease. To find a provider near you, please visit the website. The program is an intensive speech therapy program typically for 12 sessions for clients with Parkinson’s disease. Candidates should be able to tolerate 40 minute therapy sessions, follow simple commands, and show improvement using INTENT in two or more of the elements including breath support, volume, vocal quality, articulation, or intonation of speech. Additionally, candidates need to be able to complete daily home exercises either independently or given assist. I previously worked with Korean speaking clients with Parkinson’s for SPEAK OUT!® programs with translated carry over speech and cognitive tasks in Korean.

6. Do we work with adults with apraxia s/p stroke or TBI?

Yes. Treatment of apraxia may involve various treatment methods depending on the severity and other difficulties associated with the etiology. If a client presents with both aphasia and apraxia, it is important to address both accordingly in order to help the client achieve a meaningful gain in speech output. I am trained for PROMPT to help clients restructure oral muscular phonetic targets through a tactile-kinesthetic approach. A selection and/or training of an Augmentative Alternative Communication (AAC) device can be a short term or long term implementation depending on the client’s need and prognosis. You can find a Certified Lingraphica Technology Specialist in your locality. I am a certified specialist in the area of Carrollton, Texas.

7. What other less frequent treatment diagnoses do we encounter in our practice?

Less frequently, we treat individuals with dysarthria (slurred speech), stuttering, voice disorders, and Vocal Cord Dysfunction (i.e., Paradoxical Vocal Cord Dysfunction). Usually this symptom gets treated for a short period, which starts with 1-2 times per week until the client learns how to do recommended exercises and implement strategies when needed, and then decrease the frequency to help the client be more independent with exercises and strategies.

8. Do we provide speech or swallowing therapy services in Korean?

Yes. If a client’s dominant language is Korean, I recommend speech therapy be provided in Korean not only for maximized clinical outcome but also for easier access to home exercise program. In addition, depending on the languages used by the client and family/caregivers, instructions in both languages may be more beneficial.

네. 한국어를 평소에 주로 쓰시는 분이 언어나 인지능력에 문제가 있어 치료를 희망하시는 경우에 한국어로 치료를 받으시는 것이 많은 장점이 있습니다. 또 가정에서 언어, 인지, 삼킴 치료에 필요한 운동을 도와 주시는 분이 한국어를 주로 쓰시는 경우에도 도움이 됩니다. 특히 영어와 한국어 이중언어를 구사하시는 분이 뇌졸증 후 실어증이나 구어 실행증을 겪으실 경우 좀 더 정확한 평가를 해서 한국어나 영어를 아니면 두 언어를 다 사용해서 치료해야 할 지를 결정하는 것이 중요합니다.

9. Do we accept Medicare Part B?

We do accept clients with Medicare Part B. Dr. Chung is a Medicare Part B participating provider.

10. Do you need to check if we are accepting your secondary and tertiary insurances to Medicare Part B?

No. We do not need to be in network with your secondary or tertiary insurance(s) to Medicare to accept clients with Medicare. We bill Medicare Part B and Medicare usually bills your supplemental or secondary insurances.

11. Do we accept UnitedHealthcare insurances?

Yes. We are an in-network provider with many United Healthcare insurances as of May 12, 2023. We are in the process of joining WellMed Networks Inc. to serve clients with Medicare Advantage in the local community. Check our updated list of insurances that we are in network by visiting Insurances & Payment.

12. Do we accept WellMed Networks members? We are in network with WellMed Network.

13. Do we accept Blue Cross & Blue Shield insurances?

Yes. We are accepting HMOs, PPOs, and Medicare Advantage plans of BCBSTX.

14. Do we accept Medicare Advantage Insurances (as a primary insurance)?

Yes. We accept Medicare Advantage insurance either when we are in network with your insurance or if you have Outpatient Speech Therapy benefit as out-of-network. We also accept Medicare Advantage patients with Outpatient Speech Therapy benefit via MultiPlan and PHCS.

15. Are we in network with MultiPlan and PHCS network?

Yes. Chung Speech And Swallowing Therapy (Hyunjoo Chung) has joined the MultiPlan network as a participating provider. MultiPlan does not offer insurance, accepts claims, or pays providers. If a MultiPlan or PHCS logo is on your insurance card, you may have access to an additional option of providers in the MultiPlan network who offer services with contracted/discounted rates.

“The multiPlan Network is a nationwide complementary PPO Network. Your health plan is most likely utilizing the MultiPlan Network to give you access to an additional choice of providers that have agreed to offer a discount for services. Primary PPO and selection of a MultiPlan Network provider will lead to the lowest out-of-pocket costs to you”. (https://www.multiplan.us/members/). Please check your insurance ID card for a MultiPlan or PHCS logo and visit the website above to find providers. Our clinic is listed as Chung, Hyunjoo, PhD under Speech Therapy.

16. Are we in network with HealthSmart?

Yes, we are. The HealthSmart PPO Network is clearly identified on your insurance member ID with the network logo and contact information. You can visit at https://www.healthsmart.com/Service-Centers/Member-Center to find providers.

17. Do we see clients with Out-of-network Speech Therapy Benefit?

Yes. If you have other insurances that we are not in-network with, find out whether out-of-network outpatient speech therapy services may be covered by your insurance. We can assist you in verifying if you have out-of-network benefits for Outpatient Speech Therapy services and relevant details. We ask our clients to call their insurances for out-of-network benefits to understand their out-of-network speech therapy benefit, deductible to be met first if any, coinsurance and/or copay amounts per visit, etc.

If you do have out-of-network benefit for Outpatient Speech Therapy services, we can bill them directly as an out-of-network provider by accepting the assignments (i.e., amount allowed). You are responsible for the amount of patient responsibility based on Explanation of Benefits (EOB).

18. Do we accept Private Pay clients?

Yes. Private pay clients with no insurances can be provided with a superbill as a detailed invoice that may be used for HSA, FSA, or tax preparation for unreimbursed medical expenses. If you are interested in getting reimbursed directly by your insurance, we can also provide you with our service invoice (aka ‘superbill’).

19. How do we accept payment?

We accept payments/copay/coinsurance via cash, check, credit, debit, HSA and FSA card. To accept cards, we require you to enroll for Ivy Pay (HIPAA-secure app tailor-made for therapists to process clients' credit, debit, HSA and FSA cards with no swiping or readers), which needs your mobile number. You will get Ivy's text with a link that you follow to enter your card. You complete payment after you put a card on file via the link texted to your mobile number. You can cancel your enrollment at any time by contacting us. With Ivy Pay, Chung Speech And Swallowing Therapy does not need to see your credit card info unless you need assistance with initial card entering or updating.