Insurance
FEES
Our fee for each individual therapy session is $180. We offer a sliding scale for those paying out of pocket. Payment is made by check or cash at the end of each session. We also accept debit, credit, or Health Savings Account (HSA) cards. Cancellations must be made at least 24 hours in advance to avoid paying the full fee for the missed session.
INSURANCE
Cancellations must be made at least 24 hours in advance to avoid paying the full fee for the missed session (insurance companies do not pay for missed sessions, so the FULL fee would become your responsibility).
IN-NETWORK benefits
Not everything people seek counseling for is covered by insurance companies. To utilize insurance to pay for your sessions, you must meet criteria for a diagnosable mental disorder whereby counseling is deemed “medically necessary.”
We are all currently in-network with KAISER, but you will need to call KP Mental Health (503-249-3434) in order to get authorized to see us (otherwise Kaiser won’t pay for our services).
Katie is currently an in-network provider with:
- Kaiser
Bobby, Bridget, Julio, Melina, Kelly, Valentina, and Sarah are currently all in-network providers with:
- Aetna
- Kaiser
- PacificSource
- can bill for “out of network benefits” if you have them
If you have any billing questions, please contact Sarah (503-709-5137 x21)
OUT-OF-NETWORK benefits
If you have a different insurance provider than the ones listed above, services may be still be covered in full or in part by your health insurance or employee benefit plan if you have “out-of-network mental health benefits.” Please check your coverage carefully by calling up the member services phone number on the back of your insurance card and asking the following questions:
- “Do I have mental or behavioral health benefits?”
- “What is my deductible and has it been met?”
- “Is Brave Acorn a preferred provider on my plan?”
If so:
- “What is my co-pay for seeing a preferred provider?”
- “How many sessions per calendar year does my plan cover?”
- “Do I have to get pre-authorized approval before I start therapy?”
- “When is my renewal date?”
If not:
- “How much does my plan cover for an out-of-network provider?”
- “what is my co-pay for seeing an out-of-network provider?”
- “How many sessions per calendar year does my plan cover?”
- “Do I have to be pre-authorized approval before I start therapy?”
- “When is my renewal date?”
If your insurance company does provide “out-of-network mental health benefits,” let them know you will be seeing us (in case they require pre-authorization) and then you will pay us your portion of the fee with check, cash, or card at each session and we will bill your insurance company directly for their portion of the fee.
Why Some People Choose Not to Use Their Insurance for Mental Health Counseling
While using health insurance benefits allows you to save money in the short term, this benefit should be weighed against the risk of losing the confidentiality of your sessions. Health insurance companies require a mental health diagnosis in order to cover psychotherapy sessions. When you use your health insurance, your counseling sessions and confidential information (including your mental health diagnosis) become part of your permanent medical records. Insurance companies have the legal right to grant access to your medical records, and they often do. Some of the implications of this are as follows:
- Insurance companies sometimes ask for detailed information to justify reimbursement for treatment that you may prefer to keep private. This information may include your diagnosis, symptoms, personal history, substance use, and summaries of your actual sessions.
- These documents then become part of your medical record, which can be accessed by other insurance companies and have broad implications. For example, you should realize that if you are ever asked whether you have been treated for a psychiatric issue (for example, on a life insurance application), you will have to answer “yes” because your medical record will contain this information.
- Insurance companies sometimes become very directive with healthcare providers, sometimes even dictating what questions are to be asked, along with a requirement to document the client’s responses.
- You must have a diagnosable condition for a condition that matches a description in the DSM5 whereby counseling is deemed “medically necessary” to use insurance (i.e. not everything you want to seek counseling for is necessarily covered). And, again, this diagnosis must be reported to your insurance company and becomes part of your record.
- Optimal care sometimes requires more sessions than allowed by insurance companies. Occasionally only a certain number of sessions are covered, regardless of your actual need.