The Insurance Maze: How to Use Your Mental Health Benefits, Appeal Denials, and Stop Paying Out-of-Pocket for Care You Are Already Covered For

by

The Bill That Should Never Have Arrived You found a therapist. You verified that they accepted your insurance. You attended sessions for two months. You were finally making progress. Then the bill came. Not the usual 30copayyouexpected.Abillfor30copayyouexpected.Abillfor1,200. The insurance company denied every single claim. The reason code on the explanation of benefits read: “Service not medically … Read more

The Insurance Maze: How to Use Your Mental Health Benefits, Appeal Denials, and Stop Paying Out-of-Pocket for Care You Are Already Covered For

by

The Bill That Should Never Have Arrived You found a therapist. You verified that they accepted your insurance. You attended sessions for two months. You were finally making progress. Then the bill came. Not the usual 30copayyouexpected.Abillfor30copayyouexpected.Abillfor1,200. The insurance company denied every single claim. The reason code on the explanation of benefits read: “Service not medically … Read more

Medicaid Behavioral Health Carve-Outs: How State Managed Care Plans Limit Mental Health Access

by
Free stock photo via Pexels

Diego Salazar’s mother had been calling Medicaid offices in Houston for ten days when she finally cried in the kitchen. Diego, 19, had returned from his first year of college with what the campus counseling center described as a major depressive episode and possible bipolar features. The family’s Medicaid coverage was through Texas STAR. Diego’s … Read more

Medicaid Behavioral Health Carve-Outs: How State Managed Care Plans Limit Mental Health Access

by
Free stock photo via Pexels

Diego Salazar’s mother had been calling Medicaid offices in Houston for ten days when she finally cried in the kitchen. Diego, 19, had returned from his first year of college with what the campus counseling center described as a major depressive episode and possible bipolar features. The family’s Medicaid coverage was through Texas STAR. Diego’s … Read more

Forensic Inpatient Psychiatry: Court-Ordered Hospitalisation and State Hospital Treatment

by
Free stock photo via Pexels

Donovan Pierce was twenty-six the first time his mother Eileen sat in a Sacramento courtroom and listened to the words “incompetent to stand trial” being spoken about her son. The petty theft charge that had brought him into the criminal system was almost beside the point — Donovan had been hearing voices for two years, … Read more

Forensic Inpatient Psychiatry: Court-Ordered Hospitalisation and State Hospital Treatment

by
Free stock photo via Pexels

Donovan Pierce was twenty-six the first time his mother Eileen sat in a Sacramento courtroom and listened to the words “incompetent to stand trial” being spoken about her son. The petty theft charge that had brought him into the criminal system was almost beside the point — Donovan had been hearing voices for two years, … Read more

Boundary Setting With Difficult Family: Estrangement, No-Contact, and Mental Health Outcomes

by
Free stock photo via Pexels

Maya, a 34-year-old graphic designer in Portland, Oregon, sat in her therapist’s office holding a wedding invitation she had not opened. Her younger sister was getting married in Charleston in six months, and Maya already knew she would not attend. The decision had taken three years of family estrangement therapy to reach. Her father, a … Read more

Boundary Setting With Difficult Family: Estrangement, No-Contact, and Mental Health Outcomes

by
Free stock photo via Pexels

Maya, a 34-year-old graphic designer in Portland, Oregon, sat in her therapist’s office holding a wedding invitation she had not opened. Her younger sister was getting married in Charleston in six months, and Maya already knew she would not attend. The decision had taken three years of family estrangement therapy to reach. Her father, a … Read more

Virtual Visits vs. The Couch: Comparing Telehealth Therapy, Online Psychiatry, and Traditional In-Person Mental Health Care

by

The Screen Between You and Your Therapist Two years ago, the idea of having a therapy session from your living room felt strange to most Americans. Today, millions of people cannot imagine going back. The pandemic forced a massive experiment in mental health care delivery, and the results surprised even the skeptics. For many conditions, telehealth works … Read more

Virtual Visits vs. The Couch: Comparing Telehealth Therapy, Online Psychiatry, and Traditional In-Person Mental Health Care

by

The Screen Between You and Your Therapist Two years ago, the idea of having a therapy session from your living room felt strange to most Americans. Today, millions of people cannot imagine going back. The pandemic forced a massive experiment in mental health care delivery, and the results surprised even the skeptics. For many conditions, telehealth works … Read more