Health Insurance forNutritional Services

At the present time, Gargi and her entire team are preferred providers with Aetna, Medicare, Cigna, United Healthcare, Humana and Blue Cross Blue Shield, and Wellpoint Maryland.

HMO plans usually DO NOT cover nutritional services with the exception of Blue Cross Blue Shield Gold.  Medicare only covers the visits if you have diabetes or renal disease. Medicare DOES NOT cover for nutritional counseling for pre-diabetes at this time.

Please be aware that my current license allows me to accept insurance in the following states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington DC, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming

Right now (2025) most insurance companies are covering telehealth services. Therefore, when you schedule your visit you will be given the choice of in-person or telehealth. Telehealth visits are available Monday –Friday. Please call your insurance company to confirm telehealth coverage PRIOR to scheduling your visit.

If you prefer to be in-person at one of our two locations (Silver Spring or Camp Springs, Maryland), we are happy to accommodate your request. We have practitioners available for in-person and virtually in Silver Spring and Camp Springs.

Currently, our team participates with all major insurance companies including Aetna PPO and POS, Cigna PPO and POS, United Healthcare PPO and POS, Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO, POS and HMO gold,  Medicare & Medicare Advantage plans (only covers diabetes, CKD Stage 3-5 and renal transplant), Wellpoint and United Healthcare Community (covers diabetes and pregnancy only for individuals over 21)

However, that does not mean all insurances cover nutrition. Therefore, you are required to call your insurance company prior to scheduling your visit to confirm your nutrition visits will be covered.

If you live outside of Maryland, Virginia or DC and wish to work with us, your state may have licensure laws that may NOT allow us to work with you. Please contact us with the state you live in to ensure we can work with you prior to making an appointment.

If you prefer to be in-person at one of our two locations (Silver Spring or Camp Springs, Maryland), we are happy to accommodate your request. We have practitioners available virtually and in-person in Silver Spring and Camp Springs.

Please follow the steps below in the ‘What questions should I ask when calling my insurance?’ section

In the event your claim is denied for lack of coverage our initial visits (60-minute) are $180.00 and each follow-up visit (30-minute) is $80. The Parikh Program accepts cash, check and all major credit cards.

Most major insurance companies have great nutrition counseling coverage; however, it is the patient’s responsibility to call their insurance company PRIOR to your visit to confirm coverage. I know we sound like a broken record – we just don’t want you to have any surprise bills.

Do I have nutritional counseling coverage on my insurance plan?

If the insurance company asks for a CPT code, please provide them with the following codes: 97802 & 97803.

Before getting into specifics, insurance coverage has two buckets so to speak. Preventative Nutrition Services which typically has no co-pays or deductibles. And Medical, which is an actual medical diagnosis like obesity, diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, etc. Medical coverage will often trigger co-pays and deductibles; therefore, we try to bill under preventative coverage for you when possible.

Preventative Coverage:

• If the representative asks for a diagnosis code (a.k.a ICD-10 code), start with asking if ICD 10 code z71.3 is covered
• If they don’t accept /cover z71.3, then have the representative check if z72.4 is covered.
• If you overweight, obese, have  hypertension or high cholesterol, you may want to see what your coverage is for these diagnoses as well. These fall in the preventative bucket.

Medical Coverage:

• Ask if you have medical nutrition coverage. You can ask regarding a specific condition like diabetes, IBS or celiac disease for example. 

Visits can vary from 0-unlimited. Your insurance company will let you know how many visits they are willing to cover.

• 98% of our clients have $0 out-of-pocket costs. Most insurance plans cover nutrition services with no co-pays, deductibles, or co-pays. 
• Most commercial plans, Medicare, and some Medicaid plans cover nutrition services. 
• We will bill under your insurance policy’s plan under preventative benefits if your plan allows. We strongly recommend YOU verify your "preventative coverage" with your insurance company prior to your visit.
• We will initially bill your insurance company directly. Once we receive the Explanation of Benefits (EOB) describing your responsibility as the patient, we contact to notify you. We will bill the credit card on file for the amount noted under ‘patient responsibility’ after we have attempted to  contacted you.
• If you do have a co-pay, it would be the specialist co-pay rate. Insurance companies consider dietitians specialist. This information can be found on the front of your insurance card.
• If we are billing under preventative services, the co-pay is often not applicable

Yes, Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans cover nutrition but ONLY for diabetes Type 1 or 2 and Chronic Kidney Disease Stage 3-5. They will not cover any other condition. If you do not have diabetes type 1 or 2 or CKD, you may have coverage under your secondary insurance.

If you have Medicare (not a Medicare Advantage plan), and have a secondary commercial insurance, they may cover nutrition for other conditions. You can call your secondary and ask if "they will have preventative or medical nutrition coverage" as your secondary insurance (let them know Medicare is your primary).

• You are confused about what to eat and wish you could eat the foods you love especially your cultural foods.
• Experience intense cravings for carbs and sugars that make it hard to balance blood sugars. Or have sporadic blood sugars after eating and don’t understand why. You don’t want to continue like this forever.
• You want personalized nutrition that is sustainable and rooted in evidence. 
• You feel intimidated by all the conflicting information you’ve received and want an approach personalized for you.
• You have worked with a dietitian in the past, but their advice was too basic and general.
• You have tried different diets but they were not sustainable for you.
• You have a solid foundation of nutrition, but you want to deepen your skills and understanding.

• Looking for a quick fix
• Does not have time to invest in the process.