Understanding the Barriers to Mental Health Treatment
Many people struggling with mental health concerns face significant barriers to getting the help they need. Financial barriers are the most common reason. Even with medical insurance, mental health treatment can be expensive, with limited mental health care coverage, and high deductibles, copays and coinsurance. These additional costs often become a burden too difficult to overcome and prevent people from seeking mental health treatment. Availability and access to mental health treatment can also create major challenges, including a shortage of mental health professionals in certain communities, wait times for appointments stretching out weeks or months, and finding a psychiatrist accepting new patients can often be difficult. Additionally, logistical barriers, such as lack of transportation, inflexible work schedules or difficulty taking time off, and childcare responsibilities can make it difficult to obtain mental health treatment.
Understanding Insurance-Based Care
If you have health insurance and the provider is in-network, then your insurance company is billed. There may be portions of the bill that you are responsible to pay, which may include deductibles, copays, or coinsurance. A deductible is the amount you pay out of your own pocket for covered healthcare services before your insurance starts paying. For instance, If you have a $1,500 deductible, you pay the first $1,500 of covered medical expenses each year. After you have paid the deductible amount, your insurance begins to share future costs with you. You typically pay a coinsurance (a percentage of the cost) instead of the full cost. A copay is a fixed amount that you pay at the time of service for specific healthcare services. This amount differs based on your insurance plan. Many insurance plans cover certain services (like preventive care or office visit copays) even before your deductible has been met. Deductibles reset annually and the copay and coinsurance amounts may also change at that time. Most medical insurances have what is called Out-of-Network (OON) Benefits. This is where you can see providers not covered by the insurance company. However, this usually comes with higher costs for deductibles, copays, or coinsurance. If the provider you want to see is not covered by your insurance and Out-of-Network Benefits are not available, you are able to obtain healthcare services outside of your insurance, but must pay out-of-pocket. The same is true for mental health treatment.
Out-of-Pocket Options
If you lack health insurance entirely, the provider that you want to see is not covered by insurance, or if Out-of-Network Benefits are not available, mental health treatment is still available. There are affordable options to obtain mental health treatment, even with a Psychiatrist. Affordable options does not mean less quality of care. The quality of care depends on the skill, experience, education and dedication of the provider rather than how much you pay. Some Psychiatrists, like myself, offer mental health treatment at a reduced cost. I have committed to offering lower fees for patients in order to help make excellent psychiatric care accessible to everyone. I have over 25 years of experience treating the breadth of mental illness from childhood to older adulthood. It is often those who need mental health treatment the most who receive it the least, particularly in underserved communities. There are other low cost options to obtain healthcare. Local Community HealthCare Centers offer sliding scale fees based on family size and income.
Affordable Psychiatric Care Program
To help enhance accessibility to mental health treatment, I have arranged flexible office hours and have appointments on Saturdays. Additionally, virtual appointment options are available for established patients. Financially, I have created an Affordable Psychiatric Care Program. The program is to benefit those without insurance, that I am not a covered insurance provider, or Out-of-Network Benefits are not an option. I offer hour-long initial psychiatric evaluations at a cost of $200. During this appointment, a thorough mental health history is obtained, assessment of needs is determined, and a plan of treatment is established. This may include psychotherapy (or talk therapy), psychotropic medication or a combination of the two. For psychotherapy (with or without medication), appointments are 45 minutes long and cost $100. For medication management appointments, 15 minutes are allotted and cost $75. During this appointment, discussion of how the medication is working and if there are any problems with it takes place. Additionally, I practice evidence-based medication deprescribing. Deprescribing is the planned process of reducing or stopping medications that may no longer be needed, are overlapping, or may be causing unwanted side effects. The goal is to reduce medication burden and adverse side effects while improving quality of life. This also comes with the added benefit of a reduced financial burden secondary to paying for less medication.
Taking the First Step
The hardest part of seeking psychiatric care is often just getting started. Financial concerns can feel like an insurmountable barrier. However, affordable care options do exist. As Dear Annie says, “…..don’t wait until you feel “ready” to begin. The feeling of being ready shows up after you start.” If you have questions, any concerns, or want to participate in the Affordable Psychiatric Care Program, please contact me by telephone: (253) 337-4471, email: georgejacksonmd@rainierconnect.com or through website: georgejacksonmd.com
Everyone deserves support for their mental health.
