Why We Need More Therapists to Take Insurance
The Wall Street Journal recently published an article about Why It’s So Hard to Find a Therapist That Takes Insurance. This was an eye opening article because it showed that about 50% of the therapists in America take insurance. In fact, their research showed that as therapists gain experience and referrals they tend to drop all insurance from their caseload. While United Healthcare boasts that they have increased access to mental healthcare in their network by 50%, it still seems there is a shortage of mental healthcare professionals that are willing or able to take insurance.
Needless to say, it is critically important for therapists to take insurance in our country. With teen suicide and suicidal ideation on the rise and with the many social issues that have plagued the fabric of our culture and society, we need more access to mental healhcare now. To take this call to action further, we not only need more access to mental healthcare, but we need good mental healthcare.
There are scores of therapists that are trained, qualified, experienced, and wise in our country that are only private pay because they don’t want to deal with the hassle of taking insurance, however, we know that there are systems in place that are making it easier and more attractive to take insurance. Insurance companies are opening up the ability for therapists to bill and be paid for their services. The advent of measurement-based care companies are making it easier for practitioners to negotiate their rates and demonstrate their impact with empirical evidence.
The large growing number of practices that are private pay contribute to the necessity of more therapists becoming in-network with insurance companies in the US. Private pay practices can become untenable for most people to afford services thus forcing them to seek out care in community mental health centers or other sources of help. By taking insurance, you are enabling a more affordable outlet for people to seek care, as well as opening up the possibility for new patients who are looking to make the most of their insurance benefits.
Additionally, taking insurance does not have to be complicated or burdensome on your business. If you start slow and only take one or two insurances at a time, you can build a very profitable, successful, and high-impact practice that can deliver mental health services for decades to come. We would implore you to consider working insurance into the short, medium, and long term plan of your practice.
We want to help you on your path to owning a successful business and high-impact private practice! If you have any questions or concerns about taking insurance or billing insurance companies, we would love to help. Feel free to reach out to us and we would be happy to help you on your private practice journey!
