Is Therapy Covered by Insurance?

Welcome to part one in our series on using your health insurance benefits for therapy services. Join Imani Bowman, one of our amazing counselors, to learn more. Watch the video or see the video transcript below!

Our team at Forward Together Counseling provides in network services for Blue Cross/Blue Shield (Carefirst), United, Cigna, GEHA, Lyra, and Modern Health. Contact us to learn more!

Video Transcript:

Hello, and welcome to Forward Together Counseling, we are so excited that you are embarking on your mental health journey with us. We would like to provide you with some information about using your health insurance to cover mental health services. This information is also available in our 4-episode Youtube series, “Navigating Insurance for Mental Health Services” on the Forward Together Counseling Youtube channel. One of the most common questions we are asked is, “Does my insurance cover mental health services?”. The short answer is yes, it does, with some rare exceptions. Many people do not know that in the United States, health insurance plans must cover mental health and addiction services under the 2008 Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA). This act requires that health insurance plans cover care for mental health and substance abuse disorders with the same weight as they would cover physical disorders. What this means for you is that you get comparable care coverage for mental health services, such as therapy and counseling, on your health insurance plan. So if you’ve been holding off receiving support and treatment for any mental health-related care, there is no need to wait any longer! There are many ways to find a provider that is covered by your insurance plan. Through this article, we will walk you through the ins and outs of navigating your health insurance benefits plan for covering your mental health services. From finding a provider, to determining the cost of care, we hope that we can ease some of your concerns about this topic.