Why Is Therapy So Expensive – For many people, treatment can be prohibitively expensive. While our medical expenses are usually covered by some type of insurance, treatment is often not. Even if your insurance covers treatment, there may be some major downsides, such as long waiting times, high copays, and the need for a diagnosis, which can be on your personal record forever.
If you don’t have insurance covering your treatment, or if you’re willing to pay out-of-pocket for the reasons listed above, you may be surprised to learn that treatment can cost anywhere from $60-$200 per session. It can be even more shocking to learn that healing takes time. Unlike a visit to the doctor, mental health issues are not resolved in a single visit.
Why Is Therapy So Expensive
Many people may think that all a therapist does is sit back and get paid a ton of money per hour. But let’s take a step back and first realize that therapists have paid for their degrees in time, money, or both. A PhD program takes about seven years to complete, whereas a Master’s degree takes three years and costs about $50,000.
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Second, I see a therapist in the office. We want it to be a nice office with comfortable furniture, adequate lighting, plenty of heating and air conditioning, and a waiting area. Keep in mind that the therapist will have to pay for this space. Rent is usually the largest cost of a therapist’s practice.
It’s important to understand a few more things. The money you give the therapist doesn’t go right into his pocket. You must report and withdraw taxes. In addition, therapists must keep up to date with Continuing Education Credits (CEs), which costs time and money. Finally, the therapist must find the client. A significant portion of their income must be reinvested into the business to ensure that therapists receive a steady stream of referrals.
In next week’s post, we’ll talk about how to negotiate costs that are reasonable for both you and your therapist.
If you’re familiar with obsessive-compulsive disorder (and you’re probably living with the diagnosis yourself), you know the gold standard treatment for:
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If you’ve had OCD for a while, you know that topics change. Or maybe you’re new to the diagnosis and haven’t realized it yet…
You may have heard of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Most of us have at least a working knowledge of what people mean when they say it.
Don’t worry about it! we understand It can be a big decision. Sign up for our newsletter and stay informed when we publish new self-help articles on our blog or run promotions. After experiencing anxiety and depression from a breakup, 31-year-old New York resident Emily Taylor decided to seek out her therapist. However, finding a mental health professional who would accept her Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield insurance plans proved nearly impossible for her.
“I spent days trying to find a therapist near me that was covered by my insurance,” said Taylor. “The very few people I’ve found have spent five hours or more on the phone to get an appointment, [only] I’ve found they aren’t accepting new patients or have wait times of two months.”
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However, Taylor was able to find many highly rated therapists available for private payments. However, according to one report, the average treatment cost in New York was between $200 and $300 per session, so this was not a viable solution.
Many people struggle to find talk-based therapy covered by insurance. Of all health care professionals, therapists are the least likely to be insured. According to a 2014 study published in JAMA Psychiatry, only 55% of psychiatrists accept insurance plans, compared to 89% of other health care providers such as cardiologists, dermatologists, and podiatrists.
That’s a big deal, because according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, about 1 in 5 Americans will experience some form of mental health disorder in any given year. Many will also seek counseling for divorce or condolences.
Although treatment is highly individualized, experts agree that talk therapy is the gold standard for treating psychiatric problems. A 2015 study found that cognitive behavioral therapy was as effective as antidepressants in treating depression.
Why Is Good Therapy So Expensive? And Why Don’t A Lot Of Therapists Take Insurance?
So why can’t so many people get treatment? And why aren’t more mental health professionals working with third-party payers? It turns out that there are several factors that make the cost of treatment unaffordable.
Licensed psychologist Candice Ackerman says poor insurance coverage for treatment largely reflects how society views mental health.
“Insurance companies tend to look at situations from a medical perspective,” she says. “Ackerman explained.
“But when it comes to mental health,” she continued.
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On the website of Ackerman’s practice in Lakeway, Texas, she explicitly states that some professionals there do not accept insurance to avoid surprising patients.
Even if an insurance company considers a mental health diagnosis a valid claimable condition, coverage may be temporary. Jennifer Chen, 38, a freelance writer in Los Angeles, is waiting to see if her insurance company will continue to cover her treatment because she is no longer clinically diagnosed with “depression.”
“After four years of talk therapy treatment for depression, my mental health insurance provider is reviewing my case to determine if I still need coverage,” she said.
In other words, Chen’s insurance company may determine that she is healthy enough to forgo treatment, even if that is because she is healthy.
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“My therapist will sit on a review board where the insurance company will discuss my case and make a final decision on whether or not my coverage will end,” Chen said. “Currently, my insurance covers about 50% of the cost of the therapist. When my coverage ends, we need to discuss differential rates or reduced therapy sessions.”
Insurance companies are also beginning to feel frustrated. “There is a shortage of behavioral health providers across the country, and what is well known, particularly in health plan networks, is that patients either pay for treatment themselves or have to forgo it entirely,” said Cathryn Donaldson, spokeswoman for America’s Health. Insurance Plans, an insurance company trade organization.
The gap between a therapist’s hourly rate and the reimbursement rate you get from your insurance company can be huge.
“We’ve seen less than $50 per session,” Ackerman explains. “I charge $140 per session, so it will be a huge hit in terms of income.”
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$140 per session sounds steep, but Ackerman says it helps cover $2,500 a month for rent, business expenses, and malpractice insurance, advertising, office equipment, and credit card processing costs. And like many of her peers, Ackerman was heavily in student debt. She said, “I’ve been in school for 10 years, and now my debt is in the 6 figure!” She said.
“Therapists are all medical professionals with master’s degrees or higher. Many have doctorates, medical degrees, and have graduated from specialized institutions for psychotherapeutic education.
“Lawyers, accountants and architects typically earn $120-$400 an hour or more,” he added. “You should pay the same for treatment by competent and highly trained professionals.”
Arika Pierce of the Coalition for Patients’ Rights, an organization for non-doctors, says therapists are in a tough position to beat. Health Care Providers. “Therapist is M.D. Or you can’t get reimbursed at a rate that’s as fair as a therapist with a D.O., so you have no choice but to bill the patient directly. after their names,” she said.
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Pierce said her organization continues to advocate for this change to benefit non-licensed healthcare professionals and patients.
“With more equitable rates across all healthcare professionals, patients have more choice and access in terms of health care decisions,” she said.
“Therapists are almost forced to bill their patients directly because they cannot get reimbursed at a fair rate.” – Arika Pierce, Patient Rights Coalition spokesperson
Catch-22: To keep overhead low, many therapists do not hire staff or assistants. But without them, working with insurance companies can be overwhelming.
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Dr. Lynn Bufka, vice president of the American Psychological Association, said, “A lot of people who work in mental health don’t have as many patients as their primary care [doctors] can. “They can see up to seven or eight patients a day.
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