Online Therapy That Takes Medicaid, And Pays Therapists to Deliver It
Every month, thousands of people search for 'online therapy that takes Medicaid' in North Carolina, Georgia, and Virginia. Most of them hit dead ends. Not because the need isn't real. Because there aren't enough credentialed therapists on platforms built to handle Medicaid billing. Lavni is one of the few telehealth platforms that's actually set up to do this, and we're actively hiring licensed clinicians and associates who want to fill that gap. If you're LCSW, LCMHC, LMFT, LPC, LCMHCA, LCSWA, LPC-Associate, Licensed Psychologist, PMHNP, or MD/DO in psychiatry, this page is for you.
Who Lavni Is Actually Hiring Right Now
Quick clarification before we go further. This page ranks for searches like 'online therapy that accepts Medicaid' and 'virtual therapy that takes Medicaid.' Those are patient searches. But we're not writing this for patients, we're writing it for the clinicians those patients need to find.
If you landed here because you're a therapist looking for a platform that handles Medicaid billing, credentialing, and scheduling while you see clients, you're in the right place.
We're hiring in three states right now:
Associates are welcome. Lavni works with supervised associates in states where Medicaid rules allow it. Supervision arrangements are part of the onboarding conversation, we don't leave you to figure that out on your own.
185+ clinicians currently active on the platform.
Most are full in under two weeks from credentialing clearance.
Why There's More Demand Than Supply for Online Medicaid Therapy Right Now
Here's the honest picture. Medicaid telehealth expanded significantly during COVID, and states like NC, GA, and VA made a lot of those rules permanent. That created real, sustained demand for online therapy that accepts Medicaid. But the clinician supply didn't keep up.
Part of that is credentialing friction. Getting paneled with NC Medicaid MCOs like Healthy Blue, WellCare, or AmeriHealth, or Georgia's CMOs like Amerigroup or Peach State, takes months when you're doing it yourself. Most therapists don't bother. They stick with commercial insurance or out-of-pocket clients.
The result: patients who need virtual therapy that takes Medicaid are searching constantly. Therapists who can serve them are scarce. That's a caseload opportunity, not a charity case.
Lavni exists specifically to close that gap. We handle Medicaid credentialing, billing, and claims so clinicians can actually show up for those clients without the administrative overhead eating their week.
The demand is already there. The bottleneck is always credentialed supply.
Once you're cleared, clients are waiting. That's why most therapists on Lavni are full within two weeks.
Want to understand what Medicaid credentialing actually looks like state by state? The Medicaid credentialing guide for NC, GA, and VA breaks it down in detail.
From NPI to First Session: What Onboarding Actually Looks Like
There's no mystery here. This is the sequence:
1. Submit your application. You'll need your NPI, license number, and CAQH profile. If your CAQH isn't current, we'll flag that early, it's usually the one thing that slows people down.
2. Credentialing. Lavni handles the Medicaid enrollment paperwork with the relevant MCOs in your state. You'll sign documents. We do the follow-up. Typical timeline is days to a few weeks depending on the MCO's processing queue, not the months you'd spend doing it solo.
3. Platform training. Not a week-long onboarding. A few hours. You'll learn the scheduling system, documentation tools, and how AI-assisted notes work. More on that below.
4. Go live. Your profile goes active. Clients start matching. Most therapists are carrying a full caseload inside two weeks of going live.
Associates: the onboarding conversation includes supervision structure. If you already have a supervising clinician, great. If you need help thinking through that arrangement, we can talk through options, though Lavni doesn't act as your supervisor.
What Lavni handles after you're live:
You own the clinical work. That's it.
The Bonus Structure, Explained Without the Marketing Spin
We don't publish per-session rates on this page. They're disclosed inside the onboarding funnel at step four, because rates vary by license type and state, and we'd rather have that conversation in context than throw a number on a landing page that may not apply to you.
What we can tell you about: the bonus structure. It's monthly. It scales with your session volume. And it's real money on top of your session pay, not a theoretical incentive buried in fine print.
Monthly Bonus Tiers
At 35 sessions per week, that's $700/month in bonus income on top of whatever you're earning per session. Annualized, that's $8,400 in bonus alone. That's not a rounding error.
The 1099 structure means no employer benefits, no health insurance, no PTO, no retirement match. That's the honest tradeoff. But 1099 income also comes with real deductions: home office, internet, phone, continuing education, professional liability insurance, mileage if applicable. For many clinicians, the effective tax picture is more favorable than a W2 at a comparable gross. Run the numbers with your accountant using your actual situation.
Curious how Lavni compares to other platforms on this? The 1099 vs W2 breakdown for Medicaid therapists goes deeper on the tax math.
Medicaid Credentialing: Why It's Faster Here Than Doing It Yourself
If you've tried to credential with Medicaid MCOs on your own, you know the experience. You submit paperwork. Then you wait. Then you follow up. Then you wait some more. Somewhere in week eight someone tells you a form was missing a signature.
Lavni's credentialing team does this constantly. They know which MCOs have current processing delays, which forms get kicked back most often, and how to front-load the application so it doesn't stall. That institutional knowledge compresses the timeline significantly.
In North Carolina, that means enrollment with plans like Healthy Blue, WellCare, AmeriHealth Caritas, and United Healthcare Community Plan. In Georgia, Amerigroup, Peach State Health Management, WellCare, and CareSource. In Virginia, Optima Health, Molina, Anthem HealthKeepers Plus, and others depending on your service area.
You don't manage those relationships. We do.
One thing that actually slows things down:
An outdated or incomplete CAQH profile. If yours hasn't been attested in the last 120 days, fix that before you apply. It's the single most common delay we see.
For a state-by-state breakdown of what Medicaid credentialing involves for therapists in NC, GA, and VA, including MCO-specific timelines and what associates need to know about supervision and billing, read the full credentialing guide.
You're 1099 Here. Here's What That Actually Means for Your Practice
Lavni is 1099-only. No W2 option. That's not going to change, so if you need employer-sponsored health insurance or a 401(k) match, this isn't the right fit and we'd rather be upfront about that than waste your time.
What 1099 does give you: schedule flexibility, caseload control, and a deduction profile that most W2 employees don't have access to. Home office deduction, internet, phone, professional development, liability insurance premiums, these reduce your taxable income in ways that can matter a lot at the end of the year.
You'll also need to handle quarterly estimated taxes. That's standard for any 1099 clinician. If you're not already doing that, it's worth setting up before your first Lavni paycheck hits.
The comparison to agencies and group practices is worth thinking through carefully. A W2 position at a community mental health center might offer benefits, but it usually comes with a fixed caseload, productivity quotas, and limited control over your schedule. The 1099 model at Lavni is different in structure, and for clinicians who want to run their own practice without building the infrastructure from scratch, it tends to work well.
More on the tradeoffs: 1099 vs W2 for Medicaid therapists, a real comparison.
Questions Therapists Ask Before Joining Lavni
Is Lavni actually an online therapy platform that takes Medicaid, or does it only bill commercial insurance?
Medicaid-first is the whole point. Lavni was built specifically to handle Medicaid billing and credentialing, that's not an add-on or a side feature. We credential therapists with the Medicaid MCOs in NC, GA, and VA, handle claims submission, and manage denials. Most platforms are built for commercial insurance and treat Medicaid as an afterthought. We're the other way around.
Can I join Lavni as an associate, LCMHCA, LCSWA, LPC-Associate, and still see Medicaid clients?
Yes, in states where the rules allow it. North Carolina, Georgia, and Virginia each have different requirements around associate billing and supervision for Medicaid. We work with associates in all three states, but the specifics of how billing and supervision are structured depend on your state and license type. That conversation happens during onboarding, we don't have a one-size answer because the rules genuinely differ.
How long does it take to get a full caseload after I'm credentialed?
Most therapists are carrying a full caseload within two weeks of going live. The demand for online therapy that accepts Medicaid in NC, GA, and VA is real and consistent, the limiting factor is always credentialed supply, not client volume. Once you're cleared, clients are already searching for you.
What if I don't hit a bonus tier one month?
Nothing happens. There's no penalty, no clawback, no reduction in your session pay. The bonus tiers are additive, you earn them when you hit the threshold, and you don't lose anything when you don't. Some months your caseload is lighter. That's clinical reality and we don't punish it.
Do I need my own malpractice insurance to join Lavni?
Yes. Lavni is a 1099 platform, which means you're responsible for your own professional liability coverage. Most clinicians already carry this, if you don't, it's a standard requirement before you go live. The cost is also a deductible business expense, which is worth factoring into your 1099 math.
How does Lavni compare to Grow Therapy or Headway for Medicaid billing?
Grow Therapy and Headway are primarily built around commercial insurance panels. Medicaid is not their core infrastructure, it's a limited feature at best. Lavni's entire billing and credentialing operation is designed around Medicaid MCOs. If Medicaid clients are your focus, that difference in platform architecture matters a lot in practice. See the full comparison: the Grow Therapy alternative page and Headway alternative page go into the specifics.
Ready to Join One of the Few Online Therapy Platforms That Actually Takes Medicaid?
The application takes about ten minutes. You'll need your NPI, your license number, and a current CAQH profile. After you submit, our credentialing team reviews your application and reaches out within a few business days to walk through next steps.
185+ clinicians are already active on the platform across NC, GA, and VA. Most of them were seeing a full caseload within two weeks of going live. If you're ready to stop chasing commercial panels and start building a sustainable Medicaid caseload with the infrastructure handled for you, this is the move.
Questions before you apply? Call or text (980) 890-7995.