My fee is typically negotiated via direct discussion, in the course of our first few sessions. I do not work with any insurance provider, but you probably have out-of-network benefits that will lower your fee. You can determine your out-of-network benefits ahead of our meeting using the following instructions:
Contact your insurance provider via the number on the back of your insurance card. If there is a specific number for Behavioral Health or Mental Health, use that number, otherwise, the general member services will work. When prompted, choose Benefits and Eligibility Inquiry.
Inform the operator that you are calling to check on your out-of-network benefits for routine psychotherapy in an outpatient, office setting.
The operator should be able to provide you with your deductible amount and your co-insurance rate (typically something like 80/20, 70/30, 60/40, etc).
If you bring this information to our meeting, we will able to use it to determine how much your sessions will cost.
Why don’t you accept insurance?
My goal is to create the best possible experience for the people with whom I work. Most major insurance providers maintain significant limitations on the type, length, and other terms of approved behavioral health services that they will reimburse for. Frustratingly often, these companies don't support treatment modalities which do not meet their criteria of being either evidence-based and/or short term (typically 12 sessions or less).
This can create an unnecessary constriction and pressure on the therapeutic process, and as a result, can ultimately diminish the long-term effectiveness of treatment. Additionally, in my experience as an insurance-accepting provider, I have learned that working with a major insurance company limited my clinical choices, while siphoning an unacceptable amount of time and energy away from my work in the consulting room. The result of my efforts to be more helpful to my patients was that I actually helped all of us less.
The only way that I can provide the caliber of care I desire for my patients, I’ve concluded, is by practicing as an independent "Out of Network" provider.
Do you accept low-fee patients or offer a sliding-scale?
I recognize that treatment may be prohibitively costly. I reserve space in my practice for sliding-scale patients, and when I have openings, work to accommodate reasonable requests.