How do you pay for treatment?

For assistance with medications Google: pharmaceutical companies: drug programs

I had a great insurance with low copayments through my job. Unfortunately I got laid off last year July but (thanks to the Obama administration + already existing grants) I am able to continue the health insurance for only 20% of the premium until January 2011.
I won’t be able to pay the full premium of approx. 600 dollar a month next year, but I am not going to worry about it now. I am thankful that at least I could continue my insurance for now.

There is counseling service in the next town that does your initial diagnoses for free and match you with a provider that you can afford where ever you live. They have a list of those providers with a sliding scale. It makes things so much easier.

I get insurance through my state. I pay a small fee each month for full health care coverage. If anyone is having issues with paying, check with your local assistance office.

The ONLY adults in MS that are eligible for any medical coverage have to either be blind, over 65 or receiving SSI (not the same as social security disability). They will provide NO OTHER ADULTS ANY COVERAGE. Well, I take that back, they do provide pregnant women coverage if they are a certain percentage at or below poverty level.

I borrow money from my father to pay for treatment, he does not mind. finally found a good therapist and prepared to do anything it takes to afford her!!

Insurance up until 2009 was a $20 copay per session - pretty manageable. And when I wound up in the hospital, I hit all my out-of-pocket maximums that year, and we were able to get 0% interest payment plans from both hospitals (the ER and the inpatient psych hospital). I am still paying on those. The smaller one will be paid off in about August, the ER bill still has a $2,000 balance.

January 2010, insurance changed so we have to meet our deductibles before they pay a penny. And not only that, but I got a new job, and my new insurance kicked in in April. So just about when I was meeting my husband's deductible in March....I started all over again in April with a brand-new deductible on a new insurance plan.

My psych nurse's rates - what I pay on the deductible - are $135/session. Since I'm somewhat stable now, we've cut back to once a month or about once every 6 weeks, just to save money. She also allows me to pay what I can afford. I was doing pretty good keeping current....but just this month, the bill was $135, and I could only pay $20. But she says she's okay with that.

I will have to switch providers soon, as she is not in-network. I'm seeing her now because it's still 100% to see her for deductible anyways.

After I meet my deductible it will be 20%. I talked to the new psychiatrist and social worker I will be switching to, and their rates are much lower anyways. The psychiatrist will then be $17/session, therapist $18/session after insurance. Initial appointment with the psychiatrst will be $50.

The other reason I'm waiting to switch is so I can meet my deductible with my current psych nurse...and she'll let me make payment arrangements on it. A new person may not do that!

I don't understand why it can't just be a $20 copay like it is to see a regular doctor for a medical purpose. Whatever.

Oh, and for meds - I am fortunate to have excellent prescription drug insurance coverage for MOST of my meds, except for one. Invega is SOOOO expensive! Even after insurance it's like $200-$300 a month! So for now, I get free samples. But sometimes they run out of free samples, and it's really scary. And I have no idea if the new psychiatrist gets samples, or if he will give them to me or not. That really scares me, because we have tried cheaper alternatives and they just did not work for me. I went manic within DAYS of switching. And I really don't want some of the other alternatives that cause weight gain...I have worked so damn hard to lose this weight, I will NOT let another med make me gain it back again. (I gained 60 pounds on Zyprexa a while ago)

pdoc bulk bills me - it means i dont have to pay anything out of pocket. he is very good to me; i wouldn't be able to afford the $150 out of pocket.

austin-t charges me a reduced rate, and has entered into a bartering agreement with me . i'll make him a website and he can will give me therapy for free for a few sessions.

Up until recently, Arizona had a program where anyone, no matter who, who was considered "seriously mentally ill" (there is specific qualification criteria) receives free p-doc visits, labs, couseling, medications, support services, you name it. However, the state hit a budget crisis and, of course, cuts are being made everywhere. On May 18, citizens will vote on whether to continue to partially fund this program. It has already been pared down considerably. The services I receive have not been effected because I receive only p-doc consults, medications and case management. My hospitalizations have been covered either by my husband's work insurance or Medicare, due to my disability. Now, we both are on Medicare. So, I'm not sure what the future holds with further cuts in services very likely.

I am lucky to have health insurance that comes from my husband having a good job with the same company for the last sixteen years..... we have a co-pay that helps keep my office visit and medication down to an affordable price.

Thought I add to this. It is mid-May, and the flexcard ($5000) has been spent, so now we pay our co-pays directly out of pocket (insurance copays still apply thank goodness.) The new flexcard money kicks in Sept. 1. It is absolutely amazing how much we spend on medical expenses out of pocket each year.

Hello deliquesce,

this is a great idea, bartering is coming back and is a great idea...good on you for doing this,

Rhiannon

up until now, I haven't had a T, just a pdoc and case manager. But I was in a partial program where the T they gave me wanted me to have the best help I could get, so she talked to one of the teachers and he said he would accept my medicare as his only payment. I don't pay for my pdoc or my case manager either. So I guess I have been blessed by not having to pay anything because they all take my medicare as their payment. I can't think what would happen if all of that goes away again...I would be in bad shape then.

I paid out of pocket origianlly. I only had a pdoc and medication so it wasn't bad. Initial visit was $250, follow-ups were $90. Medication was around $70 a month. I had a job though so it was affordable. Then my insurance finally kicked in and I had a copay of $20 for my pdoc visits and $10 for my medication. Then I was laid off and lost my insurace 2 months later, so for the past year I have been back to paying out of pocket. So, I'm $90 a month for my pdoc and then $140 a month for my medication (he upped my dose to 2x a day so I have to pay for twice as many pills now). I had a job for a while so it was manageable. But, it was only a temporary job, and has since ended so now I am struggling to afford it. I've applied to unemployment but that will bascially just cover rent. I need a job. I refuse to go off my meds....I'm psychotic without them.

When i lost my insurance 3 years ago my therapist was kind enough to keep me on with a 70% discount. I am so grateful to have her.

Yet another Aussie here.

The government covers for my tdoc through the Mental Health Care Plan - I get 18 sessions per calendar year. Tdoc keeps a count of how many sessions we've had so far; haven't had to pay anything directly to her.

I see a private pdoc, I pay about $190/session as our sessions are "longer than 30mins but less than 45mins in duration" [as per my receipts]. Medicare gives me a rebate so i get some of the money back - I think it's 40% off the top of my head. Luckily I have some decent savings from when I was working full-time and I'm a fairly frugal person, so I've been able to afford him.

I recently lost my insurance b/c I lost my job. When I tried to apply for insurance on my own, through the same provider that my old job had, I was denied insurance b/c of my mental health! Lovely isn't it. They told me to get in contact with this other group that helps cover high risk insurers (like me), so I called. $500/month for insurance! But I still need to pay all the copays and so forth! OK my monthly income is about $1200/month! How am I suppose to pay the rest of my bills and my perscriptions. So that option is out.

I'm currently waiting to get into our local human service center. I've had intakes and wont have to pay any money b/c I don't make enough money. However, they don't have the best Ts and I have to video conference with a pdoc. Well I can't "see" the pdoc until the end of this month. Which means they wont help with my meds until I have an evaulation with pdoc. I'm going to run out of meds before then. Not sure how I'm going to pay for my meds - they run me about $400/month! OK I'll get off my soap box.

It is very frustrating. I am also unable to work. I have no income. My husband is the only one working. Two years ago, I became unable to work adn he lost a job in management that he had for 24 years. Our household income dropped 65%.
I am currently seeing a T through a local Church program. They are funded through the church and I pay a very low sliding scale fee...$10 a session.
I am not currently taking any meds, but i know that alot of the med companies will sell directly to the patient at a reduced price, if you can get you pdoc to assit you with the paperwork. Ask them about it, there are programs for it. They do not volunteer this information...but being a "used to be" nurse, lol, I know these things...
The bad part of getting assistance for therapy, I end up with conventional therapy for depression or anxiety, but nothing forcusing on my PTSD...this is not helping.
It is quite frustrating. I need intensive treatment for repressed memories, but the 10 week program is $30k. That will never happen...PTSD specific therapy in my area runs about $190 / per session...out of pocket. I have no insurance and no income.
I hate that people make so much money off others' suffering.
Sorry for the rambling....

I have private coverage through my husband's employer. Though I'm on Disability, his coverage is way better than Medicare's so we use that instead.

Prior to his current job and my approval for disability/medicare, we sold a lot of our stuff and downsized our home in order to pay medical bills, and went into debt. I got most of my meds as samples from my wonderful pdoc - sure it meant I was taking 47 pills a day in order to achieve my doses but what the heck!

I also utilized foreign pharmacies for the meds she couldn't help me with, specifically www.canadapharmacy.com. The cost savings were enormous.

I just got accepted on to disability. I thought it would be a good thing. They are paying me just a teeny amount. because I was never able to work much. Then they are deducting money from that to pay for medicare. It took me two years go get disability so i am on medicare immediatly upon acceptance to disability.

I had great insurance for free because the state I live in is very humaine to people who do not earn much. I began going to an awesome therapist. First good break for me in a longggggg time. Now I got disability I got dropped from the state good insurance. And it turns out medicare does not pay for this kind of therapist. I think its LCSW or something like that. They do not cover any of them. i will spend much of the money disability pays me for supplimental insurance and still the therapist will not be covered. I will also have part D but am already preparing for high copayments for medications. I am weaning myself off of the medications I am on. I wish I lived in a different country where the disabled and elderly were treated better. My therapist is awesome. she says that she will not stop treating me. She said she would barter. I have nothing to barter though. I am a shell of a person at this time. filing for disability took a lot out of me. It was a long hard battle to convince them that I am mentally ill. Because I waited a long time before applying. I was too ashamed to apply when i could no longer work. The battle depleted me. I dont have anything left to give for barter. The pain and depletion is very hard.

Depends on your insurance, like for mine, I have a copay for PCP visits and specialists, which is a little more. Then there's a spend down limit which is like $3500 for me I think, where I have to pay for my bills up to $3500 per year and then my insurance will kick in and pay for anything in excess

I carry the insurance for my husband and myself. I pay all my bills up to 3150.00 per person, after that the person is covered 100% in network. My meds go towards my deductible so I meet the $3150.00 fairly quickly. I am blessed that my insurance allows me to have ECT every 2 weeks for the past 3 yrs. It has allowed me to continue to work and lead a life without suicidal ideation or even acting on my suicidal thoughts.

I'm trying to figure that out. I'm going thru the worst financial crisis of my life and have no medical insurance. I work full time managing a dental practice but as a small business he's exempt from providing it. I don't qualify for medical because of my job. I'm afraid not to see someone because It's gotten unmanageable.

I've taken a break from therapy due to finances, but will be starting back up soon. I have insurance for myself and my daughter through my work. My daughter is 18 has been diagnosed MDD, Bipolar 2, Anxiety Disorder. I'm on a high deductible health plan with an HSA account. The premiums are about $80 every two weeks, but my company puts $60 each payday in my HSA (not out of my pay), and I put in $120 each payday. The first $3500 of expenses, including prescriptions, is out of pocket, then the company picks up part of the expense up to my max out of pocket of $7000.

Last year, because I had some major bills for my daughter at the end of 2015 that I didn't pay for until early 2016, I paid out close to $10,000.

Anyway, my main goal now is to cover my daughters expenses (meds $355 a month, Pdoc & therapist $400 to $500 a month, bloodwork about $600 a month) until I have paid out the initial $3500, then return to therapy once my insurance is paying part of the expense. It won't be long, but the billing is very slow right now, so I'm thinking it will be close to May before I'm sure that the $3500 has been covered.

Your damned if you do have insurance, and damned if you don't. I have it, and can't afford freaking copays. Can't get it free now because i have Insurance. And I finally found a therapist with 30 plus yrs trauma therapy experience and I still can't see her because of lack of funds for copays and transportation. I was supposed to go to a residential trauma treatment facility directly out of inpatient, but insurance doesn't cover it of course. Even though I want to seriously kill myself everday because I can't stand how much of a freak I am, and can't stand dealing with night terrors, flashbacks and panic attacks anymore.
I haven't been to therapy in at least three weeks. I have no support system, and I'm isolating more and more