Insurance co. just dropped "behavioral health" services

Reader, I found your situation to be incredible; that Blue Cross dropped your mental benefit eff. 1/1/11! But you are correct, as I googled their website. The catch 22 here has to do with Federal Mental Health Parity Regulations; which mandate a carrier to provide the same co-pays and levels of service as would be paid to a regular doctor. However, insurance companies are not obligated to offer mental health, and due to the fact that mental health is a financial burden, many companies are dropping the insurance.
Having worked in the health care industry for 20 years (for a union); I can tell you that we dropped Blue Cross many moons ago, due to their limited benefits and exorbitant premiums. Why not shop around; try some new carriers like Aetna Advantage, US Healthcare, or a group based in CA called United Behavioral Health (425 Market St, 27th Fl, San Francisco CA 94105)?
If you google: "Best Mental Health Care Insurance companies to consider", a list comes up. I suspect that this might require you to pay another premium on top of your regular insurance, but perhaps it might not be outrageous. Good luck!

yes i had called united behavioral health in the fall for some reason i didn't qualify but i will try again

also aetna thanks for the suggestions

Wow I am glad I switched insurances before this happened. I used to have this same exact insurance. Same area. They did do a poor job at mental health services to begin with. They dropped me a week into my eating disorder inpatient stay because the doctor recommended NG removal. Meaning I could eat without a tube. Forget the behavioral stuff, as long as I'm stabilized medically. The hospital felt so bad that they kept me another 3 weeks free of charge.

this website might be helpful. There is a list of all the insurance companies in Pa and their credentials. I know a few people in at my office who work and receive just over a 1,000 dollars a month that are not eligible for mcaid who receive benefits. It's a shame they recently cancelled adultbasic in Pa. Which was basically the CHIP for adults. They have a new one coming called "FairCare" which is generally the same thing. However they don't start the coverage till 2014. You can however start applying June 1 2011. And it's a first come, first serve basis.

http://www.insurance.pa.gov/

http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal...ir_care/666211

This may also be helpful. How to choose.

http://www.naic.org/documents/consum...ount_cards.pdf

http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal...015/health_pdf

This website outlines all the laws and low income insurance Acts in Pa.
http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal...insurance/9189

Also have you been deemed disabled? If you're receiving SSDI under the age of 65 you can get medicare after a two year waiting period. Which seems it should be coming up soon for you, since this was started awhile ago. I am currently getting SSDI and will eligible in August for medicare. If you are getting SSI though, well you'd be covered under medicaid for a low income, so you're probably not.

I have been my basic own caseworker my whole time in treatment and know the system pretty well. If you have any questions I can try my best to answer.

Hi

Thanks for your responses but I don't qualify for any of the low-income stuff and I'm not disabled, I'm just looking to switch private insurance plans.

Paying for your mental health expense on your own may be less expensive than buying an insurance policy. Your mental health providers may offer a cash discount to you when they don't have to answer to the insurance company or file claims and supporting documentation.

Just a thought.

Good point but I'm hoping to find something with a high (or unlimited) number of office visits, I think the numbers will crunch in my favor then but of course it depends on the plan.