Quote:
Originally Posted by jo_thorne
Way back about 15-20 years ago I used to see a psychiatrist for both therapy and medication management. I really liked this arrangement, but then my insurance coverage changed, and I could only see a psychiatrist for short medication management visits.
I'm curious what kind of insurance you have to have in the US that will let you see a psychiatrist for an hour, or do you have have to pay cash?
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Generally pdocs can choose to see clients for 15 minute med checks or longer (often 30-50 minutes). Insurance will often cover both but the pdoc will be reimbursed less for a longer appointment. So if the rate for a 20 minute appointment for a straight med check is $165 and a 40 minute therapy appointment is $265, they will probably be paid the same for both by the insurance company. So they stand to lose money. There are probably some insurance plans that don't cover longer appointments at all. Most pdocs don't do therapy for that reason or if they do its private pay. I can see my pdoc for therapy, but not for weekly intensive sessions. For that he'd refer patients out.