Insurance/Costs
Insurance/Out of network Costs
Coverage for Your Psychological Needs
All of our Massachusetts providers accept Blue Cross Blue Shield, Harvard Pilgrim, Tufts, Aetna, Optum (UnitedHealthcare or Mass General Bringham), and Cigna. If you choose not to utilize your insurance benefits or if we are not in-network with your insurance, we charge $200 for your initial assessment and $175 for every session thereafter.
All of our providers in Massachusetts take the same insurance. Please note that while most of our Illinois providers take the same insurance, there are some limitations. You can learn more about which providers accept which insurance by using our Massachusetts Contact Page or our Illinois Contact Page and our intake coordinator will reach out to you shortly.
As we understand life can be unpredictable, we are happy to discuss a sliding scale during your relationship with your provider, as we believe that someone's financial situation should not be a barrier to their healthcare.
Why might you opt to not use your insurance?
Coverage for Your Psychological Needs
We have made the hard decision to accept and bill insurance for our services to provide access to care to all, as we realize out of network is not equitable. However, our practice prides ourself in being transparent with our clients, so we want to provide this information to you all as to why we disagree with accepting insurance and why an increasing number of providers have chosen not to.
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All insurance companies require a diagnosis and evidence that services as "medical necessity." In other words, therapists are required to prove that you need therapy by fitting into the criteria of a diagnosis. We do not view clients in this way. In the same way you can go to the doctor for a cough without it being bronchitis, you should be able to meet with a therapist when you are sad without it being clinical depression.
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Insurance companies can, and often do, retroactively deny a claim and take money back that they have already paid. This is known as a "clawback". This has nothing to do with the quality of services provided, but it often more due to administrative issues. Many times this is due to the insurance not deeming it "medically necessary." This can cause clients to not be eligible to receive therapy if they do not fit any diagnostic criteria. It also may mean you being charged for any monies the insurance takes back.
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Most reimbursement rates from insurance companies are far below our out of pocket fee. Working with insurance means therapists often work longer hours, seeing more clients to ensure they can support themselves and afford the costs that go into supporting a private practice. This may mean higher levels of stress, which can impact the quality of the services they provide.
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As billing is often extensive and time consuming, most therapists pay someone to complete this task, which is costly. Insurance carriers do not account for this, among many other costs when considering reimbursement.