How to Use Your Health Insurance for Therapy
At LifeSpring, the majority of people who contact us about counseling services are looking to use their health insurance. While some people are familiar with their mental health benefits when they call us, we have found that most are not. For this reason, we’re providing a step-by-step guide to learning about your personal health plan’s mental health benefits.
Here are the steps:
1. Call your insurance company.
Pull out your insurance card, and look for a phone number on the back of the card next to a statement like, “behavioral health” or “mental health.” This is likely the number that you will call to inquire about your mental health benefits.
2. Ask these important questions, and write down the answers.
Do I have outpatient mental health counseling benefits? For most health plans, the answer will be “yes,” but you want to double check.
Do I have a deductible for outpatient mental health counseling services? If so, ask about your deductible. The representative should be able to tell you how high your deductible is and if you have met any of it to date. Having a deductible will influence the fee that you pay for your counseling appointments.
Do I have a copay for outpatient mental health counseling services? If so, ask how much, and write that number down. If you do not have a deductible, but you do have a copay, the cost of your copay is what you will have to pay at the time of your appointment.
Ask the representative for a list of mental health providers in your area who accept your insurance. This is really important. Just because your health insurance covers mental health counseling services does not mean that all counselors accept your insurance. For example, at LifeSpring, we are only in network with CareFirst, BlueCross BlueShield, and Cigna health plans. Ask for a list of “in-network” providers in your area, so you know that the therapists that you call do in fact take your insurance. People often tell us that they found out about our office through their health insurance company.
3. Call or email therapists who are in-network with your insurance company to schedule an appointment.
You can call the mental health providers from the list that your insurance company gave you, or you can search for mental health providers who accept your insurance by using websites such as PsychologyToday.
4. Once you schedule your appointment, provide your new therapist with your insurance information.
This process will vary from practice to practice, but at some point, you will need to give your new therapist information from your insurance card. Some therapists might ask you to enter your insurance information into your electronic health record, so they can verify your benefits prior to your appointment. A therapist might also ask you to bring your insurance card and photo ID with you to your first appointment.
Empower yourself
As you see, the process of obtaining information about your mental health benefits is not that complicated. By obtaining this information, you are empowering yourself to make decisions about your ability to attend counseling sessions. This will also help you narrow down your search for a provider by looking only for therapists who accept your insurance.
Do you know what your mental health benefits are? If not, this is your opportunity to call and find out!
If you are looking for a therapist in the Greater Baltimore area, we invite you to read more about our Maryland-based office and the services we offer, including online therapy, Brainspotting, anxiety treatment, counseling for interpersonal violence, and more. You can read more about each of our therapists from our website, and schedule an appointment online without ever needing to pick up the phone.
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Interested in Counseling for Anxiety or Depression?
If you’re a Marylander who knows that counseling is the direction you need to take, the therapists at LifeSpring Counseling Services are here to help. We offer online counseling services for mindfulness, depression, anxiety, trauma, and grief and loss. We also offer Brainspotting as a specialized service, and Brainspotting can be done online, too!
Here’s how you can get started! Online counseling for anxiety and depression aren’t the only services offered at our Maryland office
The counselors and social workers at our Maryland office also offer counseling services for trauma, grief and loss, boundary setting, communication skills, and difficult life transitions. We also offer specialized counseling services including Brainspotting and spiritually-integrated counseling. Because we are located next to several local universities, we also work with college students and international students.
Written By: Melissa Wesner, LCPC
Photos: Alexa Williams on Unsplash
Date of Download: 7/21/2020
