Mental Health vs. Insurance Companies

While LAST will still be working out-of-network we will be parting ways working directly and in-network with health insurance insurance carriers this March 2023, and we feel that it’s important to talk about why. Despite the medical benefits that insurance affords to many patients, mental health coverage can actually create more problems than it solves, particularly in regard to confidentiality.

All insurance companies, with the exception of government-funded programs such as Medicare and Medical/Medicaid, are privately owned, so they are essentially “big business.” This, put simply, privatizes healthcare. Further troubling is that these private companies can and will often audit your provider (us) in order to try to recoup money–money which you paid, which pays for the services you need–from us, the provider. And in the event of an audit, your medical records are automatically no longer secure and confidential between you and the provider, as the provider is required to overturn all of that information–personal healthcare information, the notes in your file, etc.–to the insurance company and this information in turn gets stored in a big data base somewhere for medical insurance companies to access at any time.

Another aspect of receiving mental health care through your insurance carrier is that in order to get the coverage, insurance companies require a diagnosis from us, the provider, regardless of what it is that brought you to us/what kind of help you’re seeking.  Much of the times we are doing couples therapy, assisting with relationship issues, or sexuality and gender concerns that fall in a gray area, and do not necessitate a medical diagnosis. Working with insurance companies turns us into medical professionals, turns you into a patient, rather than a client, and requires us to adhere to often antiquated regulatory rules of the medical community, many of which do not serve you.  

And, this is all before we even discuss all the money-gouging of which you may also be aware of. Private insurance companies low-ball providers while also price-gouging patients. We know you need it for access to more expensive care like medications, which are also privatized and hence costly.   But, thats another story for another day. Today, let’s talk about your options when it comes to mental health care.

So, what to do about it from here?

Fortunately, there are many low-fee clinics that are available and ready to help you, as well as practices with low-fee options, such as ours.  Additionally, those with online services–again, like ours–may also be more accessible. Such providers ensure that you don’t need to go through your insurance companies, you can maintain your confidentiality, and you don’t have to get a diagnosis in order to get the help that you do need. In sum total, these elements ensure that you are getting the quality care that you deserve!

LAST wants to remain accessible to you, so please reach out to our intake coordinator to iquire about the low-fee services that the LAST team has to offer you.