The simple and comprehensive answer is usually yes, you can consult a therapist through your insurance. The most comprehensive and often complex answer is the type and the amount of coverage you have, sometimes it depends. There are significant and variable differences in the types of insurance benefits offered by insurers. There are also out-of-pocket expenses you should be aware of.
Health insurance plans usually cover services such as therapist visits, group therapy and emergency mental health care. Also included are rehabilitation services for addictions. However, the first step is to find a therapist who is within your insurance network and whose services are covered by your insurance. Therapists who are “in-network” have a contract with the health insurance company to receive predetermined payments per session.
Yes, GHI provides coverage for therapy visits. This means you can use your GHI health insurance to reduce out-of-pocket costs for mental health services. GHI coverage includes in-network and out-of-network therapists, so no matter who you see for therapy, as long as you have the right credentials, GHI will help you pay for your therapy. Mental health parity laws don't always require insurance companies to cover therapy in all situations.
The parity law stipulates that health insurance for large groups covers therapy, mental health services and health care services alike. What this means is that there can't be different amounts in what your medical and mental health plans cover. An insurance plan must cover mental health services and medical and surgical benefits at the same rate. You may incur out-of-pocket costs for therapeutic services, including the Part B deductible, copayments and coinsurance.
The law requires health insurance plans to cover therapy for mental problems, just as they cover traditional physical illnesses. The Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) provides states with federal funding so they can provide low-income households with children with low-cost health insurance. Your insurance company will most likely only cover certain things they consider medical needs. Under this federal law, known as the Mental Health Parity Act, insurance companies are required to charge comparable copayments to insured individuals who visit both health care providers and mental health providers.
If you're determined to use insurance despite having other options, such as using out-of-network benefits or money you'd rather spend on other purchases, do so. This ensures that copayments, coinsurance, and deductibles for therapy and other mental health services are the same or comparable to those for medical and surgical benefits. However, one limitation of this law is that your health insurance company can determine which mental health treatment is a medical necessity. Today, thanks to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), most Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance plans cover therapy.
Familiarize yourself with the terms of your health insurance plan to better understand what providers and services are available to you. The breadth of coverage for specific therapeutic treatments, such as the length of rehabilitation or hospitalizations, also varies from plan to plan. When dealing with an insurance company, any health treatment presented is recorded in your permanent medical record. However, there are big differences between the benefits offered by health insurers and the out-of-pocket expenses you might have to pay.
If you need more information or if you can't find what you're looking for on the website, there should be a toll-free number on the back of every insurance card. On the site, you should see all the crucial information you need, for example, essential details such as what therapies cover, the cost of copayments, other policies and which therapists accept insurance, will be present on the site. .
