6 Reasons To Consider an Out Of Network Provider

If you are considering therapy, and you have health insurance coverage, it makes sense that you’d prefer to use that coverage.

But there are a few good reasons to consider an Out Of Network (OON) provider, like SFStress.

1. Get a therapist who is the best fit for you. If you’re trying to find an in network provider, you may have to call several–even dozens–of therapists before you find one who can see you. This almost inevitably means settling for a therapist who is not the ideal fit for you. You wouldn’t choose a hair stylist, or an attorney, from some random list. So why would you choose a therapist that way? Opting for OON means you can choose your best provider.
2. Freedom to get ALL the care you need. Insurance companies often restrict your frequency of care (one of them authorizes therapy visits only once a month). This means you’ll see results much more slowly–if at all. Good, effective care often requires a short, focused period of regular sessions. This can often only be done via OON care.
3. Freedom from insurance company hassles. If you’ve ever had to deal with your insurance company, you can appreciate how difficult it can be. Robotic phone menus, long wait times, no clear point of contact or accountability. It can be time consuming and frustrating, and sometimes impossible, to get your care authorized and reimbursed.
4. Privacy and confidentiality. Insurance companies frequently subject providers to clinical reviews, in which they access all your clinical records. So if you discuss a sensitive topic in therapy, someone at the insurance company could be reading your therapist’s notes about it.
5. Insurance companies require your therapist to assign you a clinical diagnosis, which is then communicated to them and held in their records. This can impact things such as life insurance premiums, even many years later.
6. It may be your only option. The sad fact is that many insurance companies don’t have nearly enough therapists to serve their members’ needs. Or, they maintain “ghost networks” of inaccessible providers. They sell coverage based on the expectation–and the legal requirement–that they provide adequate care. But despite class action lawsuits, and action at the state and local levels, many insurance companies continue to keep their networks too small. So while, technically, you may have coverage, you practically may not.

If you are ready to work with the best therapist for you, click the button below to reach out.