The Pros and Cons of Using Health Insurance for Mental Health Care

In today’s faced paced world. More and more people are seeking counselling to feel better. Plus, anxiety and depression in working people are at its peak these days. People often ask therapists if they therapy sessions are covered in health insurance. So we’ve listed the pros and cons of using health insurance for therapy.

Cons

Diagnosis

If the health insurance is used for therapy the counsellor will be forced to give the client a mental health diagnosis. Without any diagnosis, the client does not meet the criteria of receiving any treatment. Therefore, this creates a problematic situation. This is also a problem for couples seeking counselling as one of them will be labelled as patient. The counsellor again will have to deal with the issue as a mental health case.

Confidentiality

When you start therapy, your sessions are no longer private. Your records are available to your insurance company and they can review your medical records including your diagnosis and treatment. When you are applying for insurance and are asked questions about your mental health, you will be required to disclose that you received treatment for a mental health diagnosis, because that diagnosis is part of your permanent medical record.

Number of Sessions

Some insurance companies have a limit to the number of sessions they cover. Any illness cannot be cured in just a few sessions. At times one may need only some sessions and other times much more than what is slated for them. This is subjective and varies from person to person and case to case. Even if the insurance company doesn’t have a predetermined limit to the number of sessions, after reviewing your records, they can decide “you’re doing better” and determine that therapy is over because your clinical notes indicate you’re improving.

Pro

The only pro of health insurance covering our counselling is that it can keep our out-of-pocket medical expense down. Using (or not using) your health insurance for mental health care boils down to what is important to you. If keeping costs down is your primary objective, then using your health insurance is a great way to do that. If having more control over your mental health care and confidentiality are important to you, then paying out of pocket for therapy may be of greater benefit to you.

Apart from your counselling needs, it is paramount that we have a health insurance policy.  A health insurance policy normally covers all medical instances, covers ambulance charges, provides health check-ups, covers day care procedures etc. Over and above all the medical features, it gives tax benefits too.