How Our Office Works

First visit

Your first visit will consist of a thorough diagnostic interview and examination, and your initial diagnosis will be discussed at its conclusion. Together we will design an individualized treatment program for you, to include the prevention of further attacks and tools to manage an acute headache.

Please bring:

Insurance card
Physician referral (if required)
MRI or other records
Completed Initial Visit Form (fillable PDF) and email it to admin@nyheadache.com

Downloads (FORMS above):

Initial Visit Form (fillable PDF)
Consent for Telemedicine Consultation (fillable PDF)
Follow-Up Form (fillable PDF)
HIPAA Authorization Form (fillable PDF)

Tip: If you use Apple Preview or another non‑Adobe program, choose Print → Save as PDF to ensure the form is filled correctly.

You can pay for your visit securely online:

Pay Your Bill Here

Special Notes:

No perfume, cologne, scented lotions, or deodorants — odors can trigger migraines
No food in the waiting room
No cell phone conversations in the waiting area
Children under 18 must be accompanied by an adult

Patient consulting doctor using tablet at New York Headache Center.

Paying medical bill with contactless credit card.

Insurance & payments

Our nurse practitioners also participate with Aetna.

We do not participate with:
Cigna, Fidelis, Oscar, Medicare, Medicaid, ACA marketplace plans.

Most of our providers (except Dr. Mauskop) participate with:

BCBS, Horizon BCBS PPO, MVP PPO
Oxford Freedom (not Liberty)
UnitedHealthcare (not NY Exchange plans)
Select Aetna plans (EPO, HMO – referral with CPT codes required)

Your Responsibility:

Payment for uncovered services is due at the time of your appointment
We accept checks, cash, MC, VISA, AMEX
Co-payments may be required by your insurance at the time of your visit
Pre-authorizations (if required) must be arranged by the patient, though we can assist

Special Notes:

If you consult Dr. Mauskop after seeing another provider here, you’ll be charged the follow-up rate instead of the initial consultation fee
Additional employment, insurance, or legal forms may incur a $25–$250 fee

Emergencies & after-hours

During Office Hours (Mon–Fri, 9am–5pm)

Use the patient portal or call the office for urgent issues

After Hours

Call your provider directly for urgent problems
Go to the nearest emergency room if needed
Do not call providers’ cell phones or text for routine matters or prescription refills

Missed Appointments

Please confirm your appointment at least 24 hours in advance
Missed follow-up visits: $75 fee
Missed initial consultation: $250 fee

Woman suffering from severe headache or migraine.

Contacting your provider

Please use the patient portal www.myhealthrecord.com for all communications. All messages and calls will be returned as soon as possible, usually towards the end of the day, and most of the time, within 24 hours. When you message or call, please leave a number where you can be reached both during the day and later in the evening. E-mail is an alternative, but we strongly recommend using the portal as it is secure and HIPAA compliant. Please keep portal messages and emails brief and do not use them for urgent matters. For longer communications, please schedule an in-person or virtual visit.

MyHealthRecord

Patient holding migraine medication pills and glass of water.

Prescription refills

Prescriptions written at the time of your office visit should cover you until your next appointment. If you run out of medication, please call the office prescription line for a pharmacy call-in.

Exceptions:

If you are seriously overdue for an appointmen,t your prescription may not be called in; as a general rule, you need to be seen at least every 6 months for regular prescriptions and every 3 months for controlled substances
Routine prescriptions cannot be filled after hours or on an emergency basis
Narcotics and sleeping medications cannot be called in and are written only at the time of an office visit, so please do not allow these prescriptions to run out without an office visit scheduled

We need the following information to send in prescriptions:

Medication name (if you do not use generics, please state so)
Dose in milligrams
The number of pills you take daily and monthly
Pharmacy telephone number

BOTOX DETAILS

About reimbursement for Botox injections

Botox is one of the most effective and safe treatments for frequent migraine headaches. Dr. Mauskop has been using Botox to treat his patients for over 25 years, but since 2010, when the FDA approved Botox for the treatment of chronic migraines in adults, many insurance companies started to pay for it.
However, getting the insurers to pay is not a simple process, but in most cases, our staff can obtain prior authorization. Almost all insurers have several prerequisites for getting this treatment approved.

Headache Frequency Requirement

First of all, you have to have 15 or more days with headaches each month in the preceding 3 to 6 months.
‍
This doesn’t mean that you must have 15 days with migraine – you can have 8 days with migraine and 7 days with a mild headache.
‍
Some insurers may also require that your migraine headache, if left untreated, lasts for at least 4 hours.
Keeping a headache diary (paper or app) helps document the frequency, type, and duration of your headaches — useful for both insurers and your doctor.

Preventive Medication Trials

The second requirement is that you try and fail two or three (depending on the insurer) prophylactic migraine drugs, such as:
Topiramate (Topamax), Divalproex sodium (Depakote), Gabapentin (Neurontin), Propranolol (Inderal), Amitriptyline (Elavil), etc.
‍
The drug is considered failed if it doesn’t help after the dose is escalated to the usual strength or if it causes unacceptable side effects, even at the smallest dose.
‍
Some insurance companies will request documentation from us or your previous doctors confirming these trials.

Approval and Payment Process

Getting prior authorization does not guarantee that the insurer will pay for the Botox treatment.
After treatment and billing, some insurers may request doctor’s notes to verify all requirements were met.
‍
Even after payment is issued, insurers can review charts and reclaim funds for up to six years if they believe requirements were not met.
This is why you will be asked to sign forms explaining these conditions.

Treatment Frequency and Policies

While most patients require Botox injections every 12 weeks, some need them more frequently – every 10 weeks and rarely every 8 weeks.
‍
A few insurance companies allow injections every 10 weeks, but many approve them only every 12 weeks or 3 months.
‍
Our staff can check your plan’s specific policy for you.

Botox for Children and Cost Assistance

Although Botox is not FDA-approved for patients under 18, it is as effective in children as in adults.
Many insurers will approve Botox for children if all the above conditions are met.
‍
The youngest child we have treated with Botox for chronic migraines was 8 years old.
‍
If you have to pay out of pocket or your copay is high, the manufacturer of Botox, Allergan, offers up to a $1,000 rebate per treatment (maximum $4,000/year).
‍
Visit: BotoxSavingsProgram.com.

Additional Information at NYHC

Botox remains one of the safest and most effective treatments for chronic migraines — but also one of the most expensive.

Insurance approval often takes hours of work from our staff and must be constantly renewed.
Botox is considered a minor surgery by insurers and is reimbursed under the global surgical package.
Most insurers do not reimburse evaluation and management services on the same day as planned injections.
We dedicate Botox Days for injections — short visits (~15 min) focused solely on the procedure.
Please schedule a separate appointment between Botox visits to review your response, update medications, and address other medical needs.

‍