WHY PAY OUT OF POCKET FOR COUNSELING SERVICES IF I HAVE INSURANCE?
When it comes to taking care of your mental health, there should be no price limitations. Prioritizing your mental health is important whether it is covered by insurance or you are paying out of pocket.
In this blog, we will answer all of your questions about how to pay out of pocket for mental health counseling and the benefits from privately paying.
Paying out of pocket gives you the most confidential care. When you choose to use insurance to see your mental health counselor there are requirements for you behavioral health professional to provide information to your insurance company. This required information is used by your insurance company to justify the validity of your mental health services. Shared information usually includes, but is not limited to, a psychiatric diagnosis, treatment plan, therapy notes and the duration of your presenting problems. When this information is shared with the insurance companies, your counselor no longer has the ability to control the distribution of your mental health information. In other words, your psychiatric information becomes a part of your record. Consequently, for some, a psychiatric record could impact future health, life, disability benefits and premiums.
If you choose to pay out of pocket for your counseling you will find that you have more options when it comes to finding the most qualified counselor for your particular concerns. The benefits of a highly qualified or specialized counselor can lead to quicker results, fewer sessions and cost less in the long run. For the purpose of this blog, it is worth noting the impact your therapist faces when you also choose to use insurance; in turn, impacting your quality of care. The dirt, insurances only pay out a fraction of their fees, often requiring your therapist to maintain high caseloads just to stay in business. Resulting in less availability, quicker to burn out, less time to plan for your sessions, less availability to attend high quality training, mistakes and an increased likelihood of forgetting your story. (Make no mistake, no counselor is perfect and we are human beings too, but if you have a counselor that sees 18 clients per week and a counselor that sees 38 clients per week, I can assure you, there is a difference in the quality of care you receive.)
When evaluating your options to use your insurance or pay out pocket, take time to understand your insurance benefits with mental health coverage. Unfortunately, some insurances do not cover mental health services or will not start covering mental health services until you’ve met a very high deductible. In those cases, it makes more sense to choose an out of network provider. (It is worth noting that, as an out of network provider many PPO or HMO plans will cover all or most of your session costs through use of your out of network benefits. You just need to ask your provider for a superbill to submit to your insurance company!) Additionally, if you have HSA, FSA or medical savings cards, you may be able to utilize these funds for your sessions.
Our Out of Pocket Options
Waves of Change Counseling and Healing offers virtual sessions in New Jersey. Our Licensed Associate Counselors and Licensed Professional Counselors are welcoming, nurturing, understanding and knowledgeable. We emphasize working with you holistically, focusing on self - care, collaborative treatment, mindfulness, and evidence based mental health treatment for anxiety, depression, trauma, and more.
Out of Pocket Costs:
Graduate Clinician: $40/hour
Licensed Associate Counselor: $100/hour
Licensed Professional Counselor: $150/ hour
