Health Insurance + Confidentiality
What to know about using insurance for therapy, including privacy considerations and your options.
While I am in-network with some insurances, please be aware that using health insurance carries some risk to confidentiality, privacy, or future eligibility to obtain health or life insurance.
Most insurance providers require a mental health diagnosis in order for therapy to be covered. Therefore, by utilizing your health insurance for billing purposes, I am required to give a mental health diagnosis and disclose personal health information about you even if the challenges you are going through are common, relational issues, stressors, or transitions that occur as individuals progress through natural life cycles. The information your insurance typically requests is limited to diagnoses and session dates, however, as a third party payer, electing to use health insurance means your health insurance company has a right to audit your mental health records at any time and I am obligated to provide mental health information to your insurance for the purposes of payment which may include additional personal health information such as progress notes and your mental health needs.
When you do not use your insurance, this information remains private and ensures your 100% confidentiality outside of standard legal and ethical exceptions for healthcare professionals including mandated reporting for safety concerns not limited to suicide, child & elder abuse, and danger or intent to harm someone else or a group of people.