Guest guest Posted October 8, 2008 Report Share Posted October 8, 2008 Hi, . We are in the same situation. We have 30 appointments a year / 90 lifetime. Not much for treatment of a lifetime disorder like OCD. My husband and I discussed it and figure we will just have change insurance options (companies) when we come up on the 90 limit. We also have to split our appointments between psychiatric care and therapy. We minimized our appointments with the psychiatrist (got the diagnosis, and med recommendations in a couple of appointments) then had her work with our family doctor, so our family doc could manage the meds. That way we were able to use the majority of our appointments for therapy. Another thing you can try, and our insurance company did this for us. .. .When you are coming up on your 20 appointment limit, call your insurance company and ask them if they can go into your benefit for inpatient, and transfer them over to be used for outpatient, so you will allowed more than the 20. We knew at the point that we made the request that we would not need inpatient treatment for that year, so used it to keep continuity of care. As far as parity, I tried looking it up and it looked as if it was a state by state thing. (?) You could try doing a search for your specific state and see if you can find anything concrete that applies to your state. BJ > > Hello! > > I'm wondering if anybody here knows about the new Parity laws for > mental health? Is it in effect now, or starting next year? Is it > state by state or federal? > > My insurance is making me split my " 20 annual visits " between both the > Psych and counselor - and honestly, who can see a counselor less than > once a month and have it do any good???? > > thanks for any input! > > in Or. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 8, 2008 Report Share Posted October 8, 2008 O, that's a good idea about transfering benefits! I'll try that. Since my post I got to looking into the Parity. It's a lovely piece of legislation! But, it ONLY applies to people with GROUP insurance! I'm struggling to understand how a law that is supposed to help put an end to discriminatory practices, is excluding individual policy holders (I'm the only employee, so we CAN'T get group insurance!) Not only does my insurance limit my visits, they also make me pay a higher co-pay than for medical visits! And of course we are excluded from any gov't assistance plans just because I keep him covered with insurance 'cuz I can't afford the meds otherwise. What a world! We have to try and figure out how to raise these difficult, wonderful people.....so we fight the illness AND the rule-makers. No fair, I cry! But thank you so much for the great idea!! > > > > Hello! > > > > I'm wondering if anybody here knows about the new Parity laws for > > mental health? Is it in effect now, or starting next year? Is it > > state by state or federal? > > > > My insurance is making me split my " 20 annual visits " between both the > > Psych and counselor - and honestly, who can see a counselor less than > > once a month and have it do any good???? > > > > thanks for any input! > > > > in Or. > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 8, 2008 Report Share Posted October 8, 2008 You are welcome. ) If your insurance gives you any " run around " about transferring benefit, ask your therapist to get involved. Once our son's doctor got involved, they were much more cooperative. BJ > > > > > > Hello! > > > > > > I'm wondering if anybody here knows about the new Parity laws for > > > mental health? Is it in effect now, or starting next year? Is > it > > > state by state or federal? > > > > > > My insurance is making me split my " 20 annual visits " between > both the > > > Psych and counselor - and honestly, who can see a counselor less > than > > > once a month and have it do any good???? > > > > > > thanks for any input! > > > > > > in Or. > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 8, 2008 Report Share Posted October 8, 2008 Hey , My understanding is that it is federal. It takes effect on Jan 1, 2010. Here's a link to an article from the NY Timeshttp://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/06/washington/06mental.html?pagewant\ ed=1 & _r=1 & ei=5070 & emc=eta1 <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/06/washington/06mental.html?pagewanted=1\ & _r=1 & ei=5070 & emc=eta1> Here's a link to an article from WebMDhttp://www.webmd.com/mental-health/news/20081008/law-equalizes-ment\ al-health-coverage <http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/news/20081008/law-equalizes-mental-h\ ealth-coverage> One thing, though, if a plan does not currently provide mental health benefits, the bill does not require the plan to include mental health benefits. Take care Connie > > Hello! > > I'm wondering if anybody here knows about the new Parity laws for > mental health? Is it in effect now, or starting next year? Is it > state by state or federal? > > My insurance is making me split my " 20 annual visits " between both the > Psych and counselor - and honestly, who can see a counselor less than > once a month and have it do any good???? > > thanks for any input! > > in Or. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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