how to navigate billing issues
okay so! i recently had a session with my therapist in which i had been having some personal issues and ended up 30 minutes late to our appointed time. this has happened before, but she's always in the past been able to adjust the schedule so that we still get the full session time and all is well. i've also never been THIS late before, in the past it was like max ten minutes, usually 2-5. i'm not late so often that it's a pattern or anything, but i am probably late more than i should be (and have been trying to work on the avoidance that's rooted in!)
this time however, she didn't have enough flexibility in her schedule to adjust the session time (totally understandable! i was not upset by this at all) and so we only met for about 25 minutes and really just as a formality to avoid the no show fee. this is the first time i've had that short of a session, and also the first time i've been late while she's been taking insurance (which she only started doing a couple months ago). the problem arises in that i got the bill for the session today, and she charged me for the full session time (53 minutes and over in insurance terms). i was a little taken aback, because i had assumed i'd just get billed for the half time.
now!! the absolute last thing i want to do is seem entitled or ungrateful, as i know ultimately the situation was entirely my fault and i shouldn't necessarily have to pay less just because i was late. but i had thought that with insurance, you can only be billed for actual face-to-face time. i would just let it go and move on since the copay isn't that extreme, but money is EXTREMELY tight for me right now which she knows. like that difference in copay could make the difference between whether or not i can afford groceries this week kinda deal.
i would just talk to her about it, but i feel like that's the last thing i deserve right now and i really don't want to upset her. after all, it was me who was late and i know that can be a very frustrating pattern for therapists. i really don't want to push my luck by then asking about billing when she already gave me the grace of letting me come that late instead of just charging me the no show fee. i'm also like semi convinced that she's finally mad at me for this behavior because of the bill, like it's her way of reminding me that this relationship is still transactional and she can't just let me get away with objectively poor etiquette. in the past she's always been very reassuring and has never gotten upset with me over it and has always tried to challenge the beliefs i get about myself when i feel like i've disappointed her, but idk this just feels pointed in a way. especially because she's done things in the past like offered me extended session time free of charge when she was concerned about my safety and i couldn't afford more time.
for context for all of this also, my therapist previous to her was,,, not so great,,, and would get genuinely angry and hostile with me over pretty much everything i said and did. so now i always feel like im waiting for the shoe to drop with my current T where she turns on me and gets angry, so that may be coming through here.
anyways!! literally any advice or comment is appreciated, this has been eating me alive. thank you!!
tldr; i was late to a session and only got 25 mins, but therapist billed insurance for the full hour. do i bring it up even though it was my fault for being late?