Insurance Information
We Currently Accept the Following Insurance Plans
for Texas Residents
Aetna
Blue Cross Blue Shield
Cigna
Oscar Health
Oxford
United Healthcare
Please note that it is your responsibility to determine what your insurance company offers in terms of mental health coverage. To do this, it is recommended that you ask your insurance company the following to determine your benefits:
Does my health plan include mental health benefits? If so, what insurance carrier is it under?
Do I have a deductible? If so, what is it and have I met it yet?
What is my copay or coinsurance (if any) due at the time of service?
Does my plan limit how many sessions per calendar year I can have? If so, what is that limit?
Do I need a written referral from my primary care physician for my services to be covered?
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Most health insurance companies now include some form of mental health coverage and at times employers even offer a limited number of “free counseling” sessions, also known as an EAP. But before deciding to use your insurance, there are some important issues to consider. You can always decide to use your benefits, but you can’t undo many of the negative consequences of using them.
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Insurance companies require that mental health treatment be “medically necessary”. To be medically necessary, treatment must address a mental disorder.
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Medical necessity is established by psychiatric symptoms being matched to a diagnosis. Insurance companies require that the therapist assign a mental health diagnosis for the client. To be able to bill insurance, paperwork for counseling includes a release, which allows the insurance company to have access to any and all records including session notes.
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Once your insurance company receives information about you from your therapist, there is no way to protect your privacy and confidentiality. The diagnosis and other pertinent information is given by your insurance company to a national Medical Information Database that centralizes information for approximately 700 or more insurance companies. The Medical Information Database was created to alleviate fraud on insurance applications.
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This diagnosis can impact jobs with the government or military, jobs with security clearances, aviation, or any other job requiring health-related checks before hiring an employee.
After receiving a diagnosis, an individual will have to answer yes to any question pertaining to seeking treatment for a psychiatric problem. If you apply for individual health, life, or disability insurance, the mental health diagnosis can increase your rate for coverage and determine if you are rejected from coverage.
Many individuals who have lost their jobs and have to seek private coverage are not able to find an insurance company who will cover them due to their mental health diagnosis.
A diagnosis given to a child can impact their future in many ways including being labeled throughout their schooling years and impacting future employment with military, government jobs, or any employment requiring a health-care related check.
Many clients may also choose not to use insurance for varying reasons, including not being diagnosed, having more privacy, and not letting insurance have any control over number or length of sessions etc.
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To avoid each of the risks listed above, our office offers self-pay rates. It is our commitment to provide quality and affordable counseling to our surrounding communities, while at the same time protecting your confidentiality and privacy.
If you choose to use your benefits, it is the client’s responsibility to verify benefits prior to the first appointment. Call the number on your insurance card and ask about “outpatient mental health” benefits.