Insurance

I am an out-of-network provider. I do not contract with insurance providers. My license, training, and education will allow you to be qualified for out-of- network reimbursement with your insurance plan if this is part of your policy. At your request, I can provide “Superbill” receipts for you to file with your insurance company. A “Superbill” is a detailed receipt of the counseling services provided. Insurance companies may be unpredictable in terms of their reimbursement rate. I would encourage you to move forward with counseling only if my full rate is something that you can comfortably afford, with any reimbursements from insurance used as an ‘added bonus’ of sorts.

Call the member phone number on the back of your insurance card. I’d recommend asking these questions to help determine your benefits:

Does my health insurance plan include mental health benefits? If so, ask what insurance is willing to reimburse.
Do I have a deductible? If so, what is it and have I met it yet?
Does my plan limit how many sessions per calendar year I can have? If so, what is the limit?
Do I need written approval from my primary care physician in order for services to be covered?
If your insurance provider does provide out-of-network coverage for mental health benefits then I can create “Superbills” to submit for the reimbursement they offer. Once I give you the document it is up to you to coordinate with your insurance provider to ask how you will submit the documentation for reimbursement.

BENEFITS TO NOT USING INSURANCE

Diagnosis: Health insurance companies typically cover services deemed medically necessary. What this means is that you are required to have a diagnosis of a mental illness to be treated by a therapist working with health insurance companies. While this certainly works for some clients, for many they would prefer not to have that diagnosis and stigma attached to their name. Additionally, this view point goes against our belief that therapy can be beneficial even when not in a time of crisis. Therapy can be beneficial in helping improve one’s quality of life through examining communication patterns, family dynamics, coping skills and self-care.

Treatment Timeline: Insurance companies typically set a finite amount of counseling sessions to be financially covered. By limiting counseling to a timeline set by a third party, rather than between you and I, it can sometimes prevent goals from being met, or put undue pressure on your timeline of growth and healing.