Title: Why psychiatrists don't take insurance
Headings: Why psychiatrists don’t take insurance
Why psychiatrists don’t take insurance
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Content: Because many psychiatrists do not participate, it means that access to psychiatric care may be limited to those who have the money to pay up front, and the wherewithal to stick their statements into an envelope and send them to the insurance company– after they’ve called a separate managed care company, gotten pre-authorization, and had Dr. Shrink submit a treatment plan. They must assume the financial risk that the insurance company might find some reason not to reimburse. Over on PsychPractice, our colleague has a post up about an insurance company that lost the claim, then wouldn’t pay it because it was then submitted late, and then wanted the psychiatrist to provide references as to why out-of-network service is necessary. It’s about the number of hoops, how high one must jump, and whose going to do the jumping. By not accepting assignment, the doctor has greater control about what he is paid, but the patient supply becomes limited in a way that restricts access to care. Patients who want the financial and logistical benefit of remaining in their network are often surprised to find that it’s difficult to find an in-network psychiatrist (even though the insurance company often has a large list of dead providers) or that those psychiatrists aren’t taking new patients, or that they see patients for brief med checks but not for psychotherapy, or that it’s hard to find a psychiatrist who feels warm and fuzzy enough. From the patient’s point of view, it’s not fair. There’s a reason for this: it’s not fair. So why don’t all shrinks accept assignment, why aren’t they lining up to be members of insurance networks who would funnel lots of patients their way?