Rates

This topic has stirred up strong opinions both inside and outside the therapy community over an extended period. In essence, choosing not to use your insurance for sessions allows you to tailor your therapeutic journey according to what aligns best with your personal needs rather than conforming to the insurance company’s expectations.

If insurance billing were involved, your insurer would have access to my session notes, and I would be mandated to provide a specific level of detail in these notes to validate your rationale for seeking counseling. Subsequently, the insurance company could dictate the frequency and duration of your therapy, as well as the focus areas for your sessions. Moreover, they retain the authority to terminate coverage at any point. Additionally, therapists are required by insurance companies to provide a mental health diagnosis for clients and justify their eligibility for the diagnosis.

Insurance companies set their own rates. Essentially, that means that your insurance company tells your therapist how much they will be compensated for services provided. This rate is not adjusted for therapists with increased experience, training, or who have a track record of positive outcomes with clients. This rate is also lower for therapists in private practice; whereas hospitals, health systems, and government agencies receive a substantially higher reimbursement for the same services. If this seems backwards to you, then you are in the right place.

That is too long, I’m not going to read it:

• By not taking insurance:

• You don’t have to be diagnosed with a mental health condition.

• The notes from our sessions won’t be shared with your insurance company.

• We won’t have to justify the frequency and duration of our sessions.

• We won’t have to justify a rationale for why you are going to therapy and why you need it.

• It provides me and you with greater flexibility in scheduling our appointments by not having to take as many clients. Having a smaller caseload allows me to provide better and more personalized care to my clients.

• Insurance companies determine how much they are going to reimburse therapists, and it does not increase due to experience or training.

• Insurance companies reimburse hospitals, health systems, government organizations, and large platforms online substantially more than they reimburse a private practice therapist.

Please note that I am happy to submit a receipt of your services to your insurance company for potential reimbursement directly to you if you have Out of Network benefits. If this is what you choose to do, I recommend contacting your insurance company directly to find out if you have Out of Network benefits and what they are (typically there is a deductible you have to meet first and/or then they will reimburse a certain percentage or dollar amount).

I also want to mention that if I send a receipt of services to your insurance company I will have to provide them with a diagnosis and they may request more information.