They studied, honed their skills and opened practices, joining health insurance networks that put them within reach of people who couldn’t afford to pay for sessions out of pocket.
So did more than 500 other psychologists, psychiatrists and therapists who shared their experiences with ProPublica.
But one after another, they confronted a system set up to squeeze them out.
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Although federal law requires insurers to provide the same access to mental and physical health care, these companies have been caught, time and again, shortchanging customers with mental illness ...
“The way to look at mental health care from an insurance perspective is: I don’t want to attract those people. I am never going to make money on them,” said Ron Howrigon. “One way to get rid of those people or not get them is to not have a great network.”
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It is often the insurers, not the therapists, that determine who can get treatment, what kind they can get and for how long. More than a dozen therapists said insurers urged them to reduce care when their patients were on the brink of harm, including suicide.
Therapists have tried to stick it out.
They have forgone denied payments.
They have taken second jobs.
@thewebrecluse insurance companies ignore the concept of “Whole Health”. The brain is much more connected to the physical body than was believed in the medical community even 20 years ago. Insurance needs to be investigated and brought up to modern medicine and held accountable for shortcuts paying valid bills by using old views.
@thewebrecluse The VA now has programs under Whole Health. It’s not perfect but it’s better than what was offered even 5 years ago. Keep screaming because there are too many medical studies out there now that has linked everything without doubt and continue to grow. Look at ozempic. Diabetes? Liver? Lower blood pressure? Weight Loss? Sex drive? Menopause? Inflammation of the joints? Depression? Addiction? It is a GP-1 hormone produced in the brain and is linked to all of those issues.
@thewebrecluse pain physically in the body feeds depression and negative mental health and Depression and negative emotions feed physical pain. That’s a fact. Instead of breaking the cycle it’s cheaper to deny coverage and let them die.
@SatuUnelmia ❤️ Oh believe me I know. I've been ranting about this for decades. (And to be honest most psychiatry doesn't look at whole health either). The entire point of health care as an industry is to make and keep people sick ... not to cure, not to help ... Money is the only thing that matters. Lives are irrelevant.