My initial session will take about 75 minutes. The fee for this initial session is $195. All subsequent sessions will take about 45-50 minutes. The fee for these subsequent sessions is $140. Other charges, such as for assessment alone or as part of therapy, vary, and will be explained to you once we contract for the procedure.
If you plan to use private insurance, such as provided by your employer, you should contact your insurance company to see what coverage, if any, is available for services. I am not a provider for any insurance company networks, but sometimes I am covered as an out-of-network practitioner. This means that insurance continues to pay in part for some services, but at rates that may be different from an in-network practitioner. If your insurance does not have in-network or preferred providers, then there likely is coverage. Payment is due at the time of service regardless of what you might think that your insurance company is going to pay.
Why am I not in any networks? There are two reasons. When managed care networks developed in the mid-1990s, I joined several insurance panels. However, I tired of the administrative paperwork, the lack of confidentiality for my clients, and the denial of services. I could not work with my clients in the ways in which we wanted to work. Often this meant limiting procedures or methods that research has shown to be highly effective. Although insurance companies have relaxed such measures on outpatient practices, the second reason has remained in effect. Insurance companies drastically reduced reimbursement rates to psychologists to levels more appropriate to the 1980s and early 1990s. Those rates have not increased, and are not likely to increase in the foreseeable future. I did not feel good about the way in which my clients were being treated, and I did not like the way in which I was being treated.
Getting off insurance panels was a good decision for both me and my clients. I regret that this means that some clients are not able to see me because of financial limitations. However, being off such panels has allowed me to work with my clients in a way in which we, not an insurance company, determine what care they need. Check with your own insurance company to see what coverage may be available.
Finally, I should mention something about Medicare and MoHealth Net (Medicaid). I accept Medicare only for returning clients and in some very specific exceptional circumstances. I accept Medicare but not MoHealth Net.