Insurance
Because I am a licensed clinical social worker, my professional services
do qualify for patient reimbursement under most insurance plans. However,
before making the decision to use insurance coverage to reimburse you
for therapy, please consider the following:
Confidentiality:
All insurance companies require some information about the reason for
psychological treatment in order to process your claim. In addition, managed
care plans often require detailed information regarding the problem for
which you are seeking help, history, symptoms, family life, work life,
and so on. The information is entered into increasingly large information
systems, and current regulations are not strong in protecting confidentiality.
Control of Treatment:
Managed care companies use the information to decide if treatment is medically
necessary, what kind of therapy is approved, and later, if it should
continue. Many of the insurance company employees who make these decisions
have limited training, and of course have never met with you.
Psychiatric Diagnosis:
Health insurance is designed to pay for the treatment of illness. Therefore,
a psychiatric diagnosis must be made before most insurance companies will
pay.
Due to my commitment to confidentiality, and my belief that your therapy is yours and not your insurance company's, I do not participate in managed care plans nor do I accept assignment of benefits.
In order to insure your privacy, I prefer to be contacted by phone at 410-592-6332 with any questions or concerns you may have regarding fees and insurance.