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NOTES FROM THE EDITOR

Keep or Lower?

Here's a conundrum.

If you're moving or expanding to a state with lower average fees, what are you planning to do about your rates?

This isn’t a trivial decision. Lowering your fee once is easy. Raising it back later is not. And even a $25 difference per session compounds quickly across a full caseload.

Before adjusting your rates, consider these:

• Your niche and private-pay audience. How clearly can you target them in the new market?
• The strength and differentiation of your practice. Does it clearly stand out there?
• Your referral strategy in the new state.
• Your online visibility in the new location.

Expansion doesn’t mean repeating your marketing in a new location. When messaging isn’t refined for the new market, lowering your rate starts to feel like the easiest solution.

But the pressure to lower your rates is often a positioning problem.

If your specialization, visibility, and referral strategy clearly justify your fee across markets, your rates don’t need to follow the average.

If you’re expanding into a new market and wonder if your positioning can protect your fees, that’s a strategic decision worth exploring.

​Book a Strategic Direction Call​

See you next week,

Avivit

And now to the news!

NOTEWORTHY

Medicare Expands Integration Codes

CMS continues expanding reimbursement pathways for behavioral health integration and collaborative care models.

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Why it matters: Even private-pay practices feel downstream effects in documentation expectations and referral dynamics.

BUSINESS AND PRIVATE PRACTICE

Healthcare M&A Set to Rebound in 2026

A PwC analysis (covered by Healthcare Dive) expects healthcare services dealmaking to pick up again in 2026 as buyers look for scalable, tech-enabled platforms.

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Why it matters: Consolidation pressure doesn’t stay “industry-level.” It changes local competition, referral pathways, and expectations around access and convenience.

INDUSTRY NEWS

AI Regulation in Healthcare Gains Momentum

Federal agencies are accelerating conversations around oversight of AI tools used in healthcare delivery.

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Why it matters: As AI tools enter clinical workflows, regulation will influence liability, documentation standards, and client expectations, even for small private practices.