So annoyed

It is just such ******** that you can't get quality care unless you're a rich person. I'm trying desperately to find a new pdoc and it is way more difficult than it should be. There are plenty of services for people who can pay $100+ a session but if you're a regular person you get stuck with inept pnps and low quality care. Frustrated and had it with this whole system. I think I'm going to stop taking my meds. Beyond irritated.

Needed to vent that sorry

I know my insurance won't cover. Try over $400 for initial visit and $250 for a 16 minute follow up. My insurance does however cover medications

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hope you find 1

let us know how it goes

Nick, that is insane! It is so backwards that healthcare costs that much! Especially if you're sick and can't work yet have to pay out the *** in medical bills. Just ridiculous.

Thanks shattered sanity!

It is bull. Especially if you live in a rural area where there is very little quality care to begin with....and then the cost is so prohibitive. No wonder MI patients don't get the care they need! It is bad enough having the illness and struggling with JUST attempting to get help....then the cost is ridiculous. Oh...I could get on a soapbox! Makes me angry

Totally understand the way you feel!

I currently don't have a pdoc or pnp, and am having trouble finding one accepting new patients.

Is there just a lack of psychiatrists out there or something?!

Shouldn't an initial appointment with a psychiatrist be considered preventative care and be covered, same as a physical would?

That's what I don't get.

I also feel like saying screw it and wean myself off all of my medication just so I don't have to deal with this.

raspberry torte, there are plenty of psychiatrists in my area but few of them accept state insurance and the ones that do are usually pretty burnt out. Right now I am seeing a pnp who is absolutely AWFUL at her job and I'm considering tapering down on my lithium myself since she doesn't care about the side effects I'm having. I don't want to do it but I also don't want take a med that's not working out for me because I have no other choice.

I want to feel like I have some agency in my own care!

I think this system is making people a lot sicker than they needed to be, if it was easier to get proper treatment.
And people with BP, ( and every other sort of MI I assume ) usually have such low self-esteem that everything bad is internalized as "I am a loser, etc".
And so what if we have symptoms that are debilitating! We have an illness, and there is no shame in that. (might be going slightly off topic now...)
My impression is that a lot of people on the forum have to work, just to make ends meet. A lot of us should really not have to work, or at least not as much.
Having constant money-worries, is extremely stressful in itself. And of course the issue of not getting the proper follow-up (psychiatrists, therapists, meds) because the cost is prohibitive.
Because a lot of people who have MI, also have a very limited income, might make it impossible to own a car. Having a car is expensive, with paying for gas, repairs, insurance, etc. Also a reason that makes it so hard to get to a therapist. Even the cost of other kinds of transportation can be prohibitive if one has a very tight budget.

Took me more than 3 years to get a Pdoc but I lost my T when the insurance changed. I've a Medicare advantage plan and they pay him ****. But he's a good doc I like him. I spent almost 2 of those years in my bedroom in a long depressive episode. Then when it changed to mixed I went to the hospital and everyone suddenly decided yeah I needed a Pdoc! They just wait for crises and hospitalizations before doing anything....even then chances are slim to get help. Yeah they have lip service that says insurance must now cover mental health but good luck finding it unless as lunaticfringe says, you have lots of spare money.

i know how you feel
my clinic is SO congested, i only see the pdoc 2 times a year, 3 if im lucky

Wow! I guess I should be grateful then. I've been seeing this pnp about once a month even though she's awful. Most places see patients regularly in this area. I had one that even saw me once a week for a while...but I was non-compliant and then I took off to Mexico haha... I wish I had stuck with him though. Now he's moved on.

I can't find a job because my work history is so messed up. I don't think I will ever find a full time job with medical benefits so i have to rely on the state Mass Health which no one accepts. Many won't even make an appointment or talk about rates or payment options if you don't huge insurance they accept

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The medications are covered in my case. Only a $3.65 co pay but no doctor takes this insurance thru the state. The doctor I was seeing was paying $250 out of pocket until he left the practice. I went thru horrible Klonopin withdrawl earlier this year

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I have Mass Health as well and have found some providers who accept it! Now the quality of care is another thing but they do accept it. Depending on where you are you may have to drive a bit. They have a website that has a search engine where you can find providers.

Have you tried teaching hospitals? They usually accept nearly any insurance and while you may get a pdoc resident instead of a pdoc that resident is working under a pdoc and at least where I go you see the supervising pdoc at least sometimes. I think where I go alway uses PAs but I don't think they use PNPs although I'm not sure. Where I go has a pretty amazing charity care program; they actually covered all my medical costs during the 2 years I was not insured and that included a hysterectomy. They provide 100% up to a certain point and then if your income is at certain levels they'll reduce your cost a certain amount. They will also provide partial help if your income is below certain levels and you are needing help. If I have to do IP I'll probably be applying for that since I'm still paying my medicaid spenddown from surgery last year and will have a 2nd spenddown from the IP stay. (Makes me anxious thinking about it). I was already with my pdoc when she moved there so I don't know how the new patient process works but with other departments I've just called an appointment line, am given an appointment that is usually fairly soon if I'm not requesting a specific dr and when it's time I go. Medicare covers where I go for a session coded as I think 45-55 minutes. The co-pay still stinks because it is not cheap, about $30 per month plus gas because it's 2.5 hours away, but I have a good dr, consistent care and I doubt I could find anyone a lot closer to take me. And I've had much worse deductibles, $50/month for a while and I think even more than that before mental health parity act (I had to pay 60% or 75% of something). Before I started with this dr I tried to get someone in the city where I lived then and still go for therapy. 5/6 doctors wouldn't take a bipolar patient and the 6th put me on a waiting list. 13 years later I'm beginning to think they aren't going to call....

Wow just wow.


Has me thinking...


Over here, food is expensive in the lower income areas like where I live, as opposed to in surburbia where my sisters live... We always "joke" / rant about how the government is trying to starve off all the low income people to make lives better for the fortunate.


Makes me wonder if your peoples governments aren't trying to get rid of mentally ill people.





LF, I'm so sorry its been such a hurdle filled journey. I understand wanting to quit your meds yourself. My last (free government supplied) pdoc dismissed my concerns, and I ended up going cold turkey due to horrid lithium side (front top and back) effects.

we tend to keep our mi secret from others,,, except for the mass killings, john q public, never even thinks about it.... in the american way of goverment no voice means no money.... the only way to change things is for all of to scream loud long and hard to anyone who will listen..................

Thank you all so much