WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT USING IN-NETWORK AND OUT-OF-NETWORK INSURANCE BENEFITS

 

Upon request I will issue you a statement of payment, also known as a "Superbill," (complete with your mental health diagnosis - required by insurance companies in order to utilize benefits) for anyone who wants to use their insurance to obtain reimbursement.

​

Although your insurance company may have mental health benefits there are a few things you should know regarding the use of those benefits:​

​

• If you use your mental health benefits your insurance company will require that the I give you a at least one psychiatric diagnosis which indicates a mental disorder. (Example - Major Depressive Disorder, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, (PTSD) Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), etc) 

• That diagnosis will remain in your medical record.

• Should you decide to use your insurance I will provide you with a statement of services rendered.

​

​

HEALTH INSURANCE AND CONFIDENTIALITY OF RECORDS

​

If you use your insurance a disclosure of confidential information may be required by your health insurance carrier or HMO/PPO/MCO/EAP in order to process the claims.

 

I have no control or knowledge over what insurance companies do with the information submitted or who will have access to this information.

​

You must be aware that submitting a mental health invoice for reimbursement carries a certain amount of risk to confidentiality, privacy or to future capacity to obtain health or life insurance or even a job.

 

The risk stems from the fact that mental health information is likely to be entered into big insurance companies’ computers and then to be reported to the National Medical Data Bank.

​

Accessibility to companies’ computers or to the National Medical Data Bank database is always in question as life insurance and health insurance carriers will typically require a person seeking insurance to allow them access; an employer will typically require a job seeker to allow them access; and, in addition, computers are inherently vulnerable to break-in’s and unauthorized access.

 

In addition, medical and mental health data has been reported to be legally accessed by law enforcement and other agencies, which may also compromise your confidentiality.