Do you take insurance?
This is a question I often hear when people are considering counseling. It’s a good question, particularly now, when the economy is in trouble and our budgets are tight. My answer? Yes and no…and maybe you don’t really want it.
I’m a preferred provider with Uniform Medical Plan and Wellspring Family Services EAP. If you’re covered by either of them, I can bill them directly, and all you’re responsible for is the co-pay. If you’re not covered by Uniform or Wellspring, your insurer might cover a portion of out-of-network services, in which case you could file the claim with them and be reimbursed for a percentage of my fee. I would be happy to work with you under any of these three arrangements.
But even if you are insured, there might be a couple of problems with billing insurance. First, many insurance companies don’t cover couples counseling. [They haven't figured out that a) couples counseling works, and b) happy couples make healthy individuals!] Second, some people are uncomfortable with a third party being involved in their counseling, even if it’s just for billing purposes. I practice strict confidentiality in my work, which means that if I bill insurance, they would not see any of your records unless you signed a release for their disclosure, but they might require a “diagnosis code,” a five-digit number that tells them what we’re working on. If that makes you uncomfortable, read on.
There are good reasons to pay out of pocket, despite the fact that times are hard and your budget would feel the strain. First, there isn’t an insurance company asking your counselor to “code” you. No one but you and I are even aware that we’re working together. Second, there is no limit to what we can work on. Anything goes. We can do couples counseling, we can talk about your issues from the deep past, we can learn breathing exercises, you name it! There’s no fear of being denied coverage because we’re setting it all up ourselves. And finally, many clients have told me (and I have discovered this myself) that paying out of pocket has a way of making the experience richer, deeper, more central to your life. You feel as if you made a deeper investment in yourself, and in your relationships. You may feel a greater sense of pride and gratitude (gratitude directed to yourself!) for taking this step, and backing it up with your financial resources.
As I said above, I’m happy to work with you and your insurance if there’s a way to make our work more affordable. But you may also want to consider the option of paying directly for our work together. Either way, I can promise you that I will put my heart into it!
