Why You Might Not Want to Use Insurance for Therapy
I’m sharing the second part of a blog post written by my colleague, Sarah Wilson, who practices in Colorado and California. While some of my families choose to use their out-of-network insurance benefits, others opt not to for very specific reasons. Below, Sarah explains why someone might NOT use their insurance. I’ve added my own comments in Italics. Re-posted here with permission:
No Required Mental Health Diagnosis
By being self-pay, you do not need to meet criteria for a mental health diagnosis, which is required for insurance to cover therapy. This actually provides access to therapy for individuals who want to do therapy, but technically don’t have a mental health disorder, and therefore don’t qualify for therapy services through their insurance.
It may also help other individuals seek out therapy who would otherwise be fearful of utilizing therapy for fear that their employer may become aware of their mental health condition (e.g., first responders, military personnel).
Dr. Gray’s comment: Also, having certain mental diagnoses on file may impact your eligibility for insurance. For example, you may be denied when trying to purchase disability or life insurance because you have a mental diagnosis on file. In some instances, you can also be denied employment (e.g., government work, military service). For this reason, you may not want to use insurance to help pay for psychotherapy.
Privacy
Additionally, keeping insurance out of your therapy record means that you truly have privacy between you and your therapist. You won’t have to be concerned about your insurance company being privy to details of your therapy sessions.
Dr. Gray’s comments: When you use your insurance benefits, even when seeing an out-of-network provider, insurance companies can audit that provider to get access to your record. If you value your privacy or worry that such information may negatively impact you or your family, you may not want to file with insurance. This is especially important to my high-profile clients.
Quality of Therapy
If a therapist can make more money per session by not accepting insurance, this means they don’t need to see as many clients per week to make their desired or necessary income. This also means that they probably will feel more relaxed and refreshed. They will be able to provide better quality therapy because they have more time to take care of themself and their families. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather see a therapist who sees 20 or fewer clients per week than a stressed-out therapist who sees anywhere from 35-45 clients per week.
As mentioned in the previous blog post on why many therapists don’t take insurance, without having insurance dictating the type of therapy or number of sessions, the client and therapist can decide together what the best course of therapy will be on a case-by-case basis. This can lead to a higher or more in-depth quality of therapy to help clients feel better faster.
Dr. Gray’s comments: I agree 100% with this. The more patients a therapist sees, the harder it is for them to provide personalized and effective care. This is why I intentionally keep a small caseload. On any given week, I typically see 10-12 patients. This ensures each person who walks through my door receives quality care.