Insurance
In-Network insurance: Aetna, Anthem & Husky
Out of Network insurance: Consult your plan’s Out of Network benefits. Often, insurance carriers cover 50-80% of the cost of Out of Network services, leaving you responsible for only $30-75 per session.
Rates
My private pay rate is $175 per 50-minute session.
Private Pay
What is Private Pay?
Private Pay means choosing to exercise your right to pay for therapy services privately, meaning out of pocket. Private Pay gives you the most confidential, individualized, and flexible care.
Why is Private Pay more confidential?
When you see a therapist through your insurance, he or she is required to provide your personal information to the insurance company to justify the validity of the services he or she provides— which at the very least includes a psychiatric diagnosis, but also can include your treatment plan, therapy notes, and duration of the problem. Once this information has been given to the insurance company, the therapist has no ability to control how that information might be disseminated, and it becomes part of your permanent record. Unfortunately this can impact future health, life and disability benefits and premiums— whether you are insured through your employer or need to purchase your own benefits.
Why is Private Pay more individualized and flexible?
Insurance companies are allowed to dictate the manner in which therapists provide their treatment and care. They can set limits on the length, frequency, location (e.g., an office setting versus a tele-health, home visit, or outdoor session), and content of treatment your provider is allowed to offer you.
Private Pay allows your therapist — not your insurance carrier — to determine what treatment is likely to work best for you and to create an individualized plan tailored to your needs. It also frees your therapist up to focus on tasks that directly benefit you and your care, instead of satisfying bureaucratic insurance requirements. Finally, it allows you the flexibility to choose your therapist based on his/her qualifications and specialities, regardless of whether her or she is “in network” with your particular insurance provider. And you can keep your therapist even if you switch insurance providers
How does Private Pay differ from using Out of Network benefits?
If you have an insurance carrier other than those I accept (see above), you can choose to utilize Out of Network benefits to help you pay for therapy services. You would pay my fee at the time of service, and later you would submit a form applying for reimbursement through your Out of Network benefits. Depending upon your carrier and plan, you could be eligible for reimbursement of a portion of your therapy expenses. However, you may still need to satisfy separate Out of Network deductibles, copays, and/or coinsurance. Furthermore, your insurance company will still receive your personal health information and can place restrictions on the care you receive.
If your plan has a high deductible that you are unlikely to meet, it may make sense to forego insurance and utilize Private Pay for the benefits listed above. Whether you go through insurance or not, you can always use funds from your Health Savings Account (HSA) or Flexible Spending Account (FSA) to pay for therapy services.
Still have questions?
Feel free to reach out and ask me! Or you can call the phone number on the back of your insurance card to ask for details about your plan’s in-network and out-of network behavioral health benefits.