GENERAL INFORMATION

Fees:
Fees are $65.00 per 50 minutes. If you utilize online therapy, the rate will be prorated if you decide to use the email option. Fees are respectfully requested before the session starts. For those who prefer to use a credit card or are utilizing the online option, payments may be made through Paypal, a third party company that is nationally known and utilizes a secure server. This guarantees the safety of your transaction.

Insurance:
I am not on any panels at this time. I will gladly work with you to attempt to facilitate reimbursement. Some companies will reimburse at a lower rate for out-of-panel providers. For those who do not have insurance, or choose not to use it, a sliding scale is available.

Some Information about Managed Care:
Most insurance companies now contract out their mental health referrals to a third party called a Managed Care Organization (MCO). There are some facts that are important to know about these organizations in terms of mental health treatment:

Medical Necessity:
MCOs make their decisions based on medical necessity.
1. The client must have a mental disorder
2. The disorder must cause significant impairment in daily living activities, work, relationships, etc.
3. The client must be able to benefit from treatment, i.e. make consistent progress.

This often results in the focus being on a return to the level of functioning that you had before you entered therapy, rather than resolution of the issue.

Confidentiality:
When you use your insurance, I am required by them to inform the company about the treatment I am recommending, and your progress during treatment, as well as how you are doing in other areas of your life. These may include family, work, and daily living activities. All this information becomes part of the MCO's records and part of your permanent medical record at the Medical Information Bureau, which is a national data bank. This information is available to other insurance providers and can be accessed by other companies who may be evaluating an application for health or life insurance, jobs, loans.

Treatment:
The MCO reviews all information that I send and will decide how much treatment they believe is necessary. They can refuse to pay for any of the treatment, or only part of it. It can set limits on the type of treatment I provide to you and the number of times I can see you. They will often insist that you see a psychiatrist for a medication evaluation whether you and I feel that is necessary.