A guide for independent practices

Leaving Headway? Credential Before You Give Notice

Headway’s October 2026 changes have providers weighing an exit. Learn why in-network status does not transfer and what to settle before giving notice.

By Minds Unraveled · Sources reviewed October 21, 2026

What changed at Headway this fall

On October 1, 2026, Headway announced a $9.99 fee on each appointment with a client it connects to a provider through its marketplace, charged for as long as that client continues care. Headway later said the fee would roll out state by state beginning in November 2026. On October 16, its help center widened the fee to new clients reached through Headway’s ads, booking team, AI integrations, and partners such as health plans and health systems.

On October 15, Headway sent providers a new provider agreement. Reported terms included a perpetual license to a provider’s name, image, and voice, recovery of past payments, a separate arbitration agreement, and a 12-month limit on soliciting clients who found the provider through Headway. The next day, Headway’s chief executive paused the rollout for revision. As of October 21, no revised agreement or release date had been announced, and the fee had not been paused.

Minds Unraveled is not affiliated with Headway. The agreement text is not public, so the terms above are as reported by trade press and provider guides; check the version in your own account. This guide is general information, not legal advice.

Sources: Behavioral Health Business: Headway Issues, Then Retracts New Clinician Contracts After Backlash · Behavioral Health Business: Headway Faces Backlash After Unveiling New Opt-In Patient Marketplace · ClearHealthCosts: Headway adds new charge for client therapy referrals on its site · TherapistRates: Headway’s $9.99 marketplace fee

Your in-network status does not transfer

While you practice through Headway, your network participation runs through Headway’s arrangements with each payer. When you leave, that participation ends. To keep seeing insured clients in network, you need your own enrollment and contract with each payer, and each one is a separate application.

That review usually takes longer than the notice period. Headway’s own group-practice guidance says carrier credentialing can take 90 to 120 days, depending on the state and carrier. Providers report a 30-day notice requirement, or 60 days for providers who see Medicare Advantage clients through Headway. Giving notice before your own enrollments are approved can leave clients without in-network care for months.

Sources: Headway Help Center: Group practice FAQs · Therapy Is a Business: Leaving Headway? What the New Provider Agreement Says

Read the agreement you are under now

Download the agreement in your Headway account, and any revised version once it is released. A 12-month non-solicitation term reportedly appeared in earlier Headway agreements too, so it may already apply to you; clients you brought to Headway yourself are reported to be excluded. Ask an attorney how these terms apply before planning client conversations. Note these terms in particular:

The notice period and how written notice must be sent
Non-solicitation terms and the clients they cover
Access to records after termination
Repayment and audit terms
Arbitration terms and any opt-out deadline

Sources: Therapy Is a Business: Leaving Headway? What the New Provider Agreement Says

Apply to payers before you give notice

List the plans your current clients use and start with those covering the largest share of your caseload. Each application, contract, and effective date is separate, so track them individually. In Indiana and Kentucky, Medicaid managed care participation requires state Medicaid enrollment first, followed by a separate application to each plan.

Plan lists change. MDwise stopped serving Indiana’s HIP and Hoosier Healthwise members on January 1, 2026, and Anthem left Kentucky Medicaid managed care on January 1, 2025. Confirm the current plans before you apply.

Keep Headway’s practice location on your CAQH profile while your Headway participation continues. Headway warns that archiving or deleting it can be read by payers as a termination request. Add your own practice location alongside it and keep re-attesting on schedule.

Sources: Headway Help Center: Using CAQH for credentialing with Headway · Indiana Medicaid: Enrolling as a Managed Care Program Provider · Kentucky Medicaid: How to Apply for a Medicaid Provider ID · Indiana Medicaid: MDwise to end participation as a managed care health plan · Kentucky Medicaid: Managed Care Organizations

Prepare for claims outside Headway

On Headway, claims move through the platform. Once you leave, your practice needs its own way to check coverage, submit claims, and follow up on payment. Decide who will handle each step, and confirm your systems and payer access work before your first appointment under a direct contract.

Save records and check your coverage

Export the records you are responsible for keeping before you give notice; some clinicians report losing access afterward. If your malpractice policy is claims-made, ask your carrier whether you need tail coverage for services provided through Headway.

Sources: Therapy Is a Business: Leaving Headway? What the New Provider Agreement Says

Give notice when your contracts are effective

Once your highest-volume payers confirm your participation and effective dates, send written notice the way your agreement requires and keep copies of everything sent and received. After Headway deactivates your account, confirm that your directory listing is removed, then update your CAQH profile.

Telling clients is both a clinical and a contractual decision. Plan it with your professional ethics code and legal advice.

Sources: Therapy Is a Business: Leaving Headway? What the New Provider Agreement Says · Headway Help Center: Using CAQH for credentialing with Headway

You do not have to leave all at once

Direct contracts give you options without forcing a decision. You can keep Headway as a backup, turn off new marketplace referrals in your Headway settings and start new clients under your own contracts, or leave on a date you choose. Ask each payer how it handles a direct contract alongside your Headway participation.

Sources and further reading

Requirements can change. Use the payer or program’s current instructions for your provider type and location.

All practice resources