Fees:
My fee for therapy is $135 per 50 minute session. In couples therapy I
will sometimes use 80 minute sessions, for which the feel is $210.
If you have medical insurance it may pay part or all of the cost of therapy.
Once we figure out what insurance will pay for, I will have you pay me for your
portion of the cost, typically by check at the beginning of the session.
Insurance:
Insurance coverage for therapy is often more complicated than insurance for other medical
care. Bear with me, and I'll describe how it typically works, and how I work with
insurance companies.
Most medical insurance has some coverage for individual therapy. Insurance coverage for mental health
usually has annual limits on the amount of
therapy that is covered. A policy will usually cover a certain number of sessions
per year at a certain percentage. Typical polices cover 12 or 20
sessions per year, and more generous policies might cover 30 or even 50.
Policies typically cover 50%, or 80%, or (rarely) 100% of the cost of each session.
For example, Microsoft insurance covers 30 sessions per year and pays 100% of
the cost of each session. If you call
the phone number on the back of your insurance card, they can tell you what the coverage
is on your policy.
When there is insurance coverage, I typically bill the insurance company, and have the
client pay whatever portion of the bill the insurance does not cover. After the
first session I will call the insurance company to find out what the benefits are.
Based on what the insurance company says on the phone about benefits, deductibles etc., I
will have the client pay their expected amount each session, and will bill the insurance
company for the rest. If for some reason the insurance company does not pay in the
way they had described on the phone, I sometimes have to collect additional charges from
the client later.
I am a "preferred provider" with Premera Blue Cross and with Regence Blue
Shield. I often work with many other insurance companies. Many companies do
not keep "preferred provider" lists, and many companies will cover therapy
by any Licensed Psychologist. If you have questions about whether your insurance
will cover me, simply call them, tell them that I am a Licensed Psychologist, and ask what
coverage is available.
Managed Care Insurance
Some medical insurance is done on a "managed care" basis.
In mental health, this typically means that you (or I) must talk to a case manager at the
insurance company who determines whether your condition is serious enough for them to
allow you to use your benefits. After that your therapist must give the company an
update report every few sessions in order for them to authorize a few more sessions of
care. I am not on the provider panels of any managed care companies. This is
because they would require me to disclose a lot of personal information about you, and
because ( I believe ) they interfere with the care. However, many managed care
policies have coverage for an "out of network" provider.
You may know already whether your medical insurance is done on a managed
care basis. To make it somewhat more complicated, some companies have medical
coverage that is not "managed care," but their mental health coverage is.
If you call and discover that your mental health coverage is done on a managed care
basis, there still may be coverage for therapy with me. Simply ask them what the
coverage is for an "out of network provider." Usually you will have to pay
a higher copayment than if you went to a "managed care" provider, but you will
have a wider choice of providers, and it may be possible to keep your personal information
more private.
If you have any other questions about how I work with insurance, feel free
to call me and ask.
