San Francisco Therapist

 

Fees and Insurance*

$175.00 ........ First session & Initial Evaluation

$150.00 ........ Regular 50-minute session

Payment is due at the time of service.

Cash, check, debit card or credit cards (Visa & MC) are accepted.

Fees are tax-deductible and is often reimbursed through insurance coverage. Most clients choose to pay out of pocket (private pay).

I am contracted with a few health insurance companies to claim for services on your behalf. If you do not belong to one of the health plans listed below, but have a PPO plan, or out of network coverage, I can provide you with a statement with all the required codes and information for you to get reimbursement from your health insurer. Please contact then for details. 

Insurance Accepted:

  • Aetna Behavioral Health
  • Blue Shield**
  • CIGNA
  • Humana
  • Magellan
** Ask if your mental health benefit is provided by UBH or Blue Shield

 

*VERY IMPORTANT: It is your responsibility to call your insurance company and verify your mental health benefit. Ask them if you have a deductible, if you need pre-authorization,  what your co-pay amount is, and how many sessions you are allowed per year. Failure to do so may result in you being responsible for the full fee.

 

If you plan on using your health insurance for therapy, it is important that you read the following in order to make an informed decision.

Health insurance is essential when you need an expensive medical procedures like surgery or an MRI. It is natural to want to use your insurance benefit for therapy too, but be aware of the following:

  1. Confidential and private information about you is required by your insurance company when utilizing insurance for your therapy.

  2. In order to have insurance pay for your therapy, a mental disorder diagnosis must be given that will become part of your medical record.

  3. A case manager at the insurance company, who does not know either of us, reads your information and decides to authorize payment or not.

  4. Your private information may also be accessed by several other people at the insurance company during the course of your therapy.

The implications are:

  • the decision making about your therapy is not in your, or my hands, but up to an unknown person at the insurance company, and payment may be denied, in which case you will be responsible for the bill

  • confidentiality of the patient-therapist relationship is no longer fully protected since several people outside the therapy room will have access to your private and confidential information

  • your therapy information, including your mental disorder diagnoses, will become part of you permanent medical record, and this may impact your employment eligibility, security clearance, and insurance rates in the future

Health insurance providers are legally required to protect your confidential information.