Posted by SJ on May 18, 1999, at 22:43:01
My insurance company requires that I get mental health referrals from a separate company, the name of which I guess I shouldn't mention (but it was called Greensprings just a few weeks ago). These people are not exactly pleasant to have to deal with, especially when one feels so bad. I'm pretty sure that one of the methods they use to limit claims is to make you so frustrated at dealing with them, that you just give up.
I'm confused about how much I have a right to expect as far as treatment goes. The only language used to describe my mental health benefit from the primary insurance company is that it's covered at 50%, with up to 20 outpatient visits per year. However, this outfit will only authorize 5 or 6 visits, and only for "med-checks". This is demoralizing, considering they are aware that I'm suicidally depressed often times. I'm not interested in med-check only treatment, either. I can get THAT from my primary care doctor. Many of us here know more about the meds we take than our doctors do.
What is it with this "med-check" method of treating depression? While medicine is certainly a big part of the picture, I thought that talk therapy had significant value as well (it does for me). I've received treatment from a nurse-practioner whose fee I was able to afford without getting insurance involved, but psychiatrists are nearly triple the cost. Ironically, the nurse wasn't covered by my insurance!
How do others approach this problem of having insurance companies (and their 3rd party administrators) dictating what kind of treatment you receive?
poster:SJ
thread:6242
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19990501/msgs/6242.html