Frequently asked questions

Telehealth is the use of technology to provide health care virtually. All Hazel visits are "virtual visits", through a tablet, desktop, or other smart device.

Mental health services* are available 7am-7pm local time, Monday through Friday. Physical health services are available 7am-5pm local time, Monday through Friday. Crisis consultations are only available at school, during school hours.

Hazel is not a replacement for the emergency room. If a child needs immediate medical attention PLEASE CALL 911.

Hazel protocols and guidelines are evidence-based and grounded in the American Telemedicine Association and American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines. For anything outside of our scope, we will call the legal guardian to recommend next steps.

No. According to laws governing telehealth, students must be physically present in the same state as where their telehealth provider is licensed. This means if they are out of state, they will not be able to join the visit.

Complete the forms for consent provided by your school. Each child needs one consent form signed. You can find the consent form for your district at www.hazel.co/get-hazel.

We support all K-12 students for physical health and mental health needs. Mental health referrals are generally for children ages 8 and older.

Services are available in select US school districts. See what services are available in your school district.

Hazel will work to develop relationships with community providers and can assist in identifying available primary care providers.

Physical health visits are available within minutes. Mental health therapy sessions are scheduled in advance.

Hazel is not a replacement for your child’s regular doctor. If your child has an established primary care provider (PCP), you should maintain that relationship and follow the Well-Child Visit schedule (one visit every year for school-age children 5 to 18). Hazel is committed to communicating with the student’s PCP. Hazel can coordinate with students’ PCPs when clinically appropriate to ensure continuity of care. Communication to external providers can only occur if the legal guardian has given written consent, obtained during Hazel sign up.

Physical health providers are state licensed Physicians, Nurse Practitioners and Physician Associates. Mental health providers are licensed Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists, Licensed Professional Counselors, and Licensed Mental Health Counselors. Learn more about our care team: hazel.co/company/care-team.

Yes, over 40% of Hazel's providers are bilingual, speaking 19 languages collectively, including English, Spanish, French, Haitian Creole, Vietnamese, Gujarati, Armenian, Croatian, Korean, Tagalog, Lokano dialect, Hawaiian Pidgin, Samoan, Sign Language, and more.

Over 50% of Hazel providers identify as BIPOC. Learn more about our care team at hazel.co/company/care-team.

Each student can typically expect an intake visit plus six weeks to two months of weekly sessions before being discharged from the Hazel program. The program is short-term—if your child needs long-term mental health support, we will help identify and connect you with options in your community. Our providers may use their clinical discretion to provide care services beyond two months on a case-by-case basis if a student encounters challenges connecting to long-term care.

School staff, legal guardians, and Hazel physical health providers can refer students to therapy. If you are looking to refer your child to Hazel therapy, please call 1-800-76-HAZEL (42935) to request a referral. Only students actively enrolled in a Hazel partner school are eligible for services.

Our clinical team will use their discretion to determine whether a student can re-enroll in mental health services, factoring in time since discharge and previous session attendance and program outcomes. If a new clinical concern has arisen, or at least sixty days have passed since the student was discharged and thorough follow-up with the long-term resources Hazel previously provided (if applicable) has been attempted, Hazel may be able to support re-enrollment. For inquiries about re-enrollment, please call 1-800-76-HAZEL (42935).

There is no limit on the number of visits.

Hazel Health will not evaluate or treat symptoms related to sexually transmitted infections or pregnancy, nor prescribe or recommend contraception.

Hazel providers will communicate with your child’s primary care provider when a referral to a specialist is needed. Most insurance companies (including Medicaid) require that referrals to specialists are made directly by the primary care provider.

No, Hazel does not offer immunizations.

For the current school year, Hazel Health’s services are provided at no out-of-pocket cost to families.

If an insurance card is unavailable, the parent/guardian should complete as much information as possible on the consent form. The parent/guardian can call Hazel Health anytime with additional details if available.

Over-the-counter medication administered during a Hazel Health visit at school is provided at no cost. If a Hazel provider recommends a prescription from a pharmacy or a referral to an outside provider, the family is responsible for any out-of-pocket cost. 

Hazel bills insurance to cover the cost of the visit whenever possible, so there is no out-of-pocket cost for families. Once a visit is completed, a family may receive an explanation of benefits (EOB) in the mail. If an EOB is received, this is NOT a bill. The EOB is a record indicating a visit occurred and was billed to insurance, not to the student/family. No additional action is needed.

Hazel Health has partnered with your school to cover your cost of services so that there is no cost to your family. We will bill your insurance to cover the cost of your visit, so there is no cost to you.

Yes.

Yes, under Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), medical records can be shared with the appropriate credentialed administrators (ie. principals) under FERPA.

No.

Hazel Health complies with all HIPAA and FERPA requirements. With the appropriate written consent, Hazel Health shares patient information such as date of birth, name, gender, allergies, summary info about medications, and other information (e.g. what’s on the consent form) with the school and for insurance verification and billing.

You can contact Hazel directly at 1-800-76-HAZEL or visit this page for more information.

In alignment with mental health industry standards, we cannot duplicate counseling services that are already being provided by another therapist. Please let your therapist know if you are receiving any other mental health services during your intake visit so that they can determine whether it is clinically appropriate to pursue Hazel’s program.

When families give their consent and provide insurance information, Hazel Health can bill insurance, just like any other healthcare provider. This helps us get reimbursed for the services we provide to students, making sure that some or all of the visit cost is covered by insurance whenever possible. A portion of the fee that districts pay Hazel as a platform fee is used to offset any out-of-pocket expenses not covered by insurance. 

Once care has been provided, having access to insurance information also helps to better coordinate support of families, such as by sharing referral recommendations or ordering prescriptions, to apply a more integrated approach to physical and mental health care for students. Additionally, knowing which plans our families have helps us identify the health plans that Hazel Health should contract with so that the visit cost can be covered by insurance whenever possible.

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When families give their consent and provide insurance information, Hazel Health can bill insurance, just like any other healthcare provider. This helps us get reimbursed for the services we provide to students, making sure that some or all of the visit cost is covered by insurance whenever possible. A portion of the fee that districts pay Hazel as a platform fee is used to offset any out-of-pocket expenses not covered by insurance.

If the parent/guardian has consented to Hazel Health’s services, then the parent/guardian has consented for Hazel Health to bill insurance for services rendered.

Currently, Hazel Health does not bill families or accept direct payments from families for our services. 

When filling out insurance information on the consent form, the parent/guardian should look at the insurance card for the student, or an online portal from the insurance organization, to find the correct information. In many cases, each student will have insurance and be the policyholder. If the student’s insurance card is available, the parent/guardian should send us a photo of the front and back via the link text from the Hazel Health system. 

At this time, the consent will be processed as usual. Additional outreach to the family will be conducted if needed during a mental health referral or physical health visit. 

Hazel Health visits can count toward an insurance deductible. Hazel currently cannot research individuals’ insurance coverage terms. To better understand how a Hazel Health visit could impact a deductible, we encourage families to contact their health plan to ask any questions about the plan's coverage and benefits for each child. 

Hazel Health does not bill families directly, and there are no out-of-pocket costs for health visits. No additional action is needed if a health plan does not cover a claim or a visit is denied.

Providing a diagnosis is the standard of care for healthcare services and occurs regardless of billing when clinically appropriate.  As part of our physical health services and mental health intake process, our providers use their clinical judgment to provide a diagnosis, which can help determine the best treatment methods and modalities for the child. 

To bill a visit, a diagnosis is required for both mental health and physical health visits, but as outlined above, a diagnosis is a fundamental aspect of our care delivery.

All student health and insurance information shared with Hazel Health is confidential and in compliance with HIPAA, Hazel’s Notice of Privacy Practices and Consent, and state privacy laws. Student information is stored on Hazel Health’s highly secure, fully encrypted digital records platform. For continuity of care and additional coordination efforts, Hazel Health may share insurance information with other healthcare entities (e.g., pharmacies, health plans, or community-based organizations for continuing care) as outlined in the Notice of Privacy Practices and Consent. 

Hazel and Hazel Health’s employees may view insurance information for consent review, insurance review, and billing. Hazel partners with third parties for specific insurance and billing-related functions, with whom data is shared in a HIPAA-compliant manner. Hazel and Hazel Health will never sell the information to a third party.

Yes. Citizenship status is not required for students to use Hazel Health services. Any student, regardless of citizenship status, can use Hazel Health. 

Some states do allow minor consent. Two things must be true in order for students to consent for themselves: (1) they are of the right age based on state’s laws and (2) the district where their school is located has opted in for minor self-consent through Hazel. All documentation related to these visits is only accessible to the student. No information about these visits is released to the schools or districts.