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"...Some practitioners who want to join networks are turned away. Melissa Davies, a psychologist in Defiance County, Ohio, was part of Anthem’s network for year

"...Some practitioners who want to join networks are turned away. Melissa Davies, a psychologist in Defiance County, Ohio, was part of Anthem’s network for years when she worked in a larger medical group. But the insurer refused to contract with her after she started a solo practice in 2012, saying the area was saturated, even though Davies is one of only three psychologists in the county. When Davies examined Anthem’s directory, “I found a great number of their providers were no longer practicing, or were dead,” she says..." This is damning.

macinjosh 7y ago
It seems like a widespread issue as well. In my area (pop. ~300,000) there is one child psychologist and one adult psychologists who practices elsewhere half-time. I was not aware of insurance companies refusing to contract with psychologists but that explains the dearth of psychologists. If I was a psychologist I wouldn't want to offer services if I cannot accept the main form of payment patients would use.
- tfandango 7y ago
  In my area there are plenty of mental health care psychologists, but unfortunately none of them take my insurance (UHC, one of the biggest if not the biggest insurers). So I pay out of pocket since my out-of-network deductible is so high I'll never reach it. Neither UHC or my employer care about this.
wtracy 7y ago
One of the "primary care practitioners" in my provider's directory was actually an osteologist. His receptionist informed me of the mistake, and informed me that they've been trying to fix the mistake for a very long time.
e40 7y ago
It's really, really hard to find a good therapist. I've heard so many stories from friends and have direct experience with employees who've had trouble. Kaiser completely screwed over an employee of mine, which led to him being homeless for more than 6 months and abandoning his job. It took him more than a year to get back on track. IMO, it's criminal what these insurers are doing. Also, there was a post here, I believe, about a successful therapist (in Australia, I believe) that was quitting because of the BS he was putting up with from the insurers. It was a youtube video where he laid out all the reasons. It was just heartbreaking to watch.
- orky56 7y ago
  If you're comfortable, I would like to hear more about the Kaiser-related incident.
- scruple 7y ago
  > It's really, really hard to find a good therapist. And sometimes you can find a good one and watch them, over the span of 5-10 years, turn from good to bad. Then you're back and in the market looking for a new person to divulge your innermost thoughts and intimate experiences to only to realize they're all actually shit now. /endrant

macinjosh 7y ago

It seems like a widespread issue as well. In my area (pop. ~300,000) there is one child psychologist and one adult psychologists who practices elsewhere half-time. I was not aware of insurance companies refusing to contract with psychologists but that explains the dearth of psychologists. If I was a psychologist I wouldn't want to offer services if I cannot accept the main form of payment patients would use.

tfandango 7y ago
In my area there are plenty of mental health care psychologists, but unfortunately none of them take my insurance (UHC, one of the biggest if not the biggest insurers). So I pay out of pocket since my out-of-network deductible is so high I'll never reach it. Neither UHC or my employer care about this.

wtracy 7y ago

One of the "primary care practitioners" in my provider's directory was actually an osteologist. His receptionist informed me of the mistake, and informed me that they've been trying to fix the mistake for a very long time.

e40 7y ago

It's really, really hard to find a good therapist. I've heard so many stories from friends and have direct experience with employees who've had trouble. Kaiser completely screwed over an employee of mine, which led to him being homeless for more than 6 months and abandoning his job. It took him more than a year to get back on track. IMO, it's criminal what these insurers are doing. Also, there was a post here, I believe, about a successful therapist (in Australia, I believe) that was quitting because of the BS he was putting up with from the insurers. It was a youtube video where he laid out all the reasons. It was just heartbreaking to watch.

orky56 7y ago
If you're comfortable, I would like to hear more about the Kaiser-related incident.
scruple 7y ago
> It's really, really hard to find a good therapist. And sometimes you can find a good one and watch them, over the span of 5-10 years, turn from good to bad. Then you're back and in the market looking for a new person to divulge your innermost thoughts and intimate experiences to only to realize they're all actually shit now. /endrant