Mental Health Insurance -There But Not There

Online services, convenient and effective, fill the gap

November 2, 2016, 6pm ET, Judy Woodruff, PBS News Hour, interviewed special correspondent, April Dembosky (producer, Sheraz Sadiq) of KQED and insured mother, Natalie Dunnege. Here is the upshot of their discussion:

More than 43 million Americans suffer from depression, anxiety or other mental health issues, but more than half never get help, even people who have health insurance. For these people (who have health insurance) getting appropriate coverage can be a challenge.

Under state and federal laws, insurance plans must cover mental health services equally compared to other forms of care.

But millions of patients across the country still struggle to get the help they need.

Misinformation;

On one health insurance site, you can see it says, doctors, facilities, dentists, nothing about where to find a therapist. After calling, they will mail a list of providers.

Dembosky, “I called 100 psychologists in San Francisco. Half said they’re no longer taking insurance or new patients, and a quarter never even called back. Only eight had appointments outside of normal work hours”.

Long waitlists for therapists

     Dunnege, “They all have a three-month waiting list. And then, after the three-month waiting list, you have, like, two to eight weeks of intake. And then hopefully you get approved”.

     Dembosky, “So, Ms. Dunnege pays out of her own pocket, for her son’s therapy. And now she’s facing similar hurdles finding a therapist for herself”.

This is where Counseling on Demand comes in.

Unlike many health insurance plans, no misinformation from us.  We provide all information needed, including bios of each counselor and therapist…And there are no waitlists- appointments on demand. To be clear, as with other online mental health services, we do not accept insurance, but our rates are reasonable.

We are online at CounselingonDemand.com.

We are only a click away.