How do you pay for treatment?

Thanks for the links. I decided to try going to a therapist with a sliding fee scale. On the phone the woman I spoke to said with my income sessions would be $35. I hope this is the case; if it is, I might be able to afford atleast a few sessions.

I am disabled so medicare pays for my Pdoc visit with my copay $35. Medicare part D pays for part of my prescriptions but I still pay ~ $250/month until I hit the "donut hole" and I have to pay 100% for prescriptions. I had to stop taking Invega when I was in the donut hole because Invega cost $500 for a month's supply.

My son has no insurance, no benefits. He qualifies to see a free physician's asst that prescribes his meds for ADHD and bipolar. His meds cost ~$400/month. I am not happy with the quality of care with his PA and if/when I can start working per diem I will fire the PA and pay for a MD.

I have no insurance and currently cannot afford private insurance...
I pay for my weekly therapy session on a sliding scale through the county I live in ($27.00) which is Johnson County, KS. The county offers free crisis care and and almost free inpatient type of Crisis Care center where you can stay for a couple of weeks if you are either suicidal or going through a some sort of truma, it's NOT a hospital though, but an alternative.
The county does offer hospitalization if needed as well and you pay according to your income, the rest is coverered by gov't subsidies and grants.
There are many different free groups in KC metro area too (group therapy) for just about every psychiatric issue.

Im from Australia. We have medicare. I pay a gap payment of $25 for pdoc and $10 for general doctor. this is the cheapest i have heard of in Aust for a private pdoc. i negotiate the fee when i cant pay. and have have seen her for free also and the government and tax payers pay the rest of my medical bills. There are also goverment services which are free to see but usually short term and cbt or other basic therapy. Im very lucky to have the health care i do for so cheap. the pdoc actually charges 175 an hour. so its way cheaper.

I get subsidised meds so it costs around 6 dollars each medication.

I'm on Disability so have Medicare/Medicaid so I don't pay anything for my therapy or doctor visits. I am one of the lucky ones.

For my meds my Medicare part D has me pay either $2.50 or $6.30. I am hoping I don't hit the donut hole. The last couple of years I had an HMO instead of my Medicare, I'm not sure how it worked but Medicare paid them for my medical bills and through them I had dental and vision in addition to my regular stuff. Through them I also had my prescriptions and I didn't have to pay for my prescriptions either but this year they quit covering Arkansas. Bummer too because I could get contacts through them and now I have to get glasses and pay for them. I miss my Wellcare.

Jan

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.