Affordable Therapy: How Can I Find A Therapist That Takes My Insurance?

More and more people are recognizing the value of treating their mental health with therapy. While consulting a professional healthcare provider or therapist for assistance may be a positive step, therapy can also be expensive.

The following article outlines how you can find a therapist who is the right fit for you and also accepts your insurance so that you can enjoy the cost-effective, therapeutic support you need. 

Therapy and insurance

Insurance providers are not allowed to discriminate against patients who are seeking therapy as opposed to physical health care, per the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA). These laws require most insurance companies to provide coverage for mental health conditions in the same way they provide coverage for physical health conditions. The ACA and MHPAEA apply to all insurance companies that offer plans through the public federal health insurance exchange marketplace, the government-funded Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), several forms of Medicaid, and all employer-sponsored insurance plans. 

If you are insured under one of the following major U.S. insurance companies, it is likely that your insurance plan complies with the ACA and the MHPAEA:

• Anthem
• Blue Cross Blue Shield
• Cigna
• Regence
• Humana
• Molina
• Aetna
• Bright Health
• Kaiser Permanente
• United Healthcare

Most insurance companies have an online search tool on their company site where you can find providers who are in-network. This often extends to licensed therapists. 

What are some important things to know when using insurance for mental health treatment?

Even if your insurance company is adherent with the ACA and MHPAEA and you find an in-network therapist whom you connect with, you may still run into some complications when attempting to use insurance to help pay for therapy. In some cases, your insurance provider may not provide coverage for therapy unless the therapy is specifically prescribed as a treatment for a diagnosed mental health condition. If you are seeking therapy to work through a life challenge or relationship conflict, not because you are experiencing symptoms of mental illness, it might be more difficult to find insurance coverage for therapy.

Ask your insurance

It may help to call your insurance company and talk to them directly about the situation, including what you are seeking therapy for and the specific therapist you would like to see. Keep in mind that insurance company representatives may not be able to provide you with the exact cost of therapy services since your therapist may charge additional fees not covered by insurance. However, they may be able to tell you if the services from a specific therapist are covered, and what kind of co-pay, if any, you can expect to pay for therapy. 

Exploring alternatives to insurance-funded therapy

In many cases, working with a therapist covered by your insurance company may be preferable to working with a therapist who is out of network. While insurance may not make therapy free, insurance can significantly offset the costs. 

However, you might find yourself in a situation where you are not able to use insurance to help pay for therapy. Maybe you do not currently have health insurance, for example. Perhaps your preferred therapist does not take insurance or does not take your specific insurance. Or you may find that, even with insurance coverage, the cost of an in-network therapist is still out of reach. In these instances, it may help to consider alternative options for mental health care and therapy.

National mental health resource programs often have 24/7 on-call hotlines that anyone can use free of charge. Consider, however, that these hotlines are typically intended for acute crisis situations and are not an appropriate method of seeking ongoing or long-term therapeutic care. Still, hotline staff may be able to connect you to lower-cost mental health services or therapy in your local community for more regular care. These hotlines include:

• The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline (formerly known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline): Simply dial 988 or 1-800-273-TALK
• The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI): 1-800-950-NAMI or by email at info@nami.org
• The National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233 or text “START” to 88788
• The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) 24/7 Treatment Referral National Helpline: 1-800-662-HELP
• The Steve Fund, which provides mental health support for young people who identify as Black, indigenous, or a person of color (BIPOC): Text “STEVE” to 741741
• The Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN): 1-800-656-HOPE
• The Trevor Project, which provides mental health support to young people in crisis who identify as members of the LGBTQ community: 1-866-488-7386 or text “START” to 678678
• The Trans Lifeline, which provides mental health support to people who identify as transgender or nonbinary: 1-877-565-8860
• The Veterans Crisis Line: Call the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988 and then press 1.

Your job may not offer comprehensive health insurance coverage for mental health care or therapy, but you may still be able to use free or lower-cost therapy through your employer if they have an Employee Assistance Program (EAP). With an Employee Assistance Program, an employer (usually a mid-size to large company) contracts with an external mental health services provider to connect their employees with individual therapy services, couples therapy, family therapy, substance use therapy, and other mental health & therapy services. 

You may encounter fewer restrictions when attaining therapy through an Employee Assistance Program as opposed to through your health insurance company. For example, you typically do not need to have a diagnosed mental health condition in order to participate in EAP therapy. It is also rare for employees to pay any sort of fee or co-pay to use the therapeutic service since it is typically subsidized by the employer.

Still, you may find limitations on certain kinds of therapists or therapeutic treatments offered through the program, or you may be able to complete only a set number of therapy sessions in a certain time. In the latter situation, it is sometimes possible to continue seeing your therapist past the session cap if you are willing to pay their additional fees.

Online therapy platforms such as BetterHelp offer lower-cost therapy options that may be more convenient and flexible than attending in-person therapy sessions. While many of these internet-based therapy platforms do not accept insurance, the cost per therapy session may be comparable to the co-payment fees many insurance companies charge for a therapy session. 

With BetterHelp in particular, you may have expanded reach to a broader range of therapists than those covered by your insurance provider or offered through your company’s Employee Assistance Program. You can also attend therapy on your schedule; many online therapists offer sessions during the evenings and weekends when most brick-and-mortar therapy offices are closed. If you’re looking for cost-effective, convenient, and flexible therapy options, online therapy could be the right fit for you.

Scientific research has found that online therapy may be just as effective as in-person therapy in treating symptoms of mental health conditions. One study assessed a course of online CBT therapy treatment and found that the participants had reduced symptoms of multiple types of mental illness when treatment concluded, including depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, phobias, bipolar disorder, mood disorders, and more.