Why We Don't Take Insurance

There are several reasons why we do not take insurance: 

 

• Many clients can still get reimbursed for sessions using superbills, which allow them to use their out of network benefits as intended. Insurance companies don't want you to know this is an option. 

• Insurance is a for profit system. Even state sponsored health care plans are managed by for profit insurance companies. Insurance companies are notorious for putting profits over people. The less we participate in this system, the better.

• Insurance companies will try to dictate the type and frequency of services clients can receive. If we are contracted with insurance, it can be difficult to push back when they do not have the best interests of you, the client, in mind. This can result in services not being paid and becoming the client's responsibility. 

• Insurance companies often have many hoops for providers to jump through in order to submit claims and get paid. Providers often have to submit claims more than once or wait on hold for hours to talk to the insurance company about missing payments. This results in burnout and increased rates to make up for those lost hours. 

• Insurance companies can initiate something called a "claw back" years after covering your sessions. They find a reason to reject claims after they have already been paid, then require therapists to suddenly return that money, which can amount to thousands of dollars. Therapists then have to either take this as a loss or bill the client for the session fees. These clawbacks are often due to petty factors like one missing piece of inconsequential information on a claim form, thus the reason it wasn't noticed in the beginning. 

• Insurance companies often do not reimburse providers well, and negotiating cost of living increases and higher rates is difficult, yet they have no problem increasing deductibles and copays for clients. Clients often end up paying out of pocket for at least some if not all of their sessions with insurance anyways. Insurance companies often reimburse clients at a significantly higher rate than they pay in network therapists directly for the same service.

• Insurance companies can demand full access to session notes or other privately shared information from in network providers. It is our firm belief that what you share in session is nobody’s business but the therapist’s and your own. 

• Not taking insurance allows us to offer sliding scales, spend time engaging in social justice issues, and serve the community in other ways with the time we aren’t spending submitting claims, waiting on hold, and speaking with insurance representatives over the phone. 

• Avoiding the added stress of working with insurance companies allows us to be our best selves as we serve our clients. It’s hard to be fully present with clients if we are worried about claims getting paid, client confidentiality being jeopardized, or client needs not getting met when services are limited or denied.