Insurance for Mental Health Services

Jennifer Erickson is ONLY in network with Commercial Anthem-Blue Cross/Blue Shield. I can bill for Virginia, Florida and Utah. For all three states there is no guarantee of payment, please confirm your benefits. 

** I no longer participate with: Anthem EAP and Anthem/Blue Cross Medicaid programs. 

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Non-Participation with Insurance / Self-pay

Dr. Erickson does not normally participate with insurance plans, however due to COVID she has maintained a contract with Anthem/Blue Cross plans. This means that she can ONLY accept your Anthem insurance for payment. Jennifer cannot guarantee all Anthem or Blue Cross plans are included within her Contract, especially if based out of the State of Virginia. You are responsible for contacting your insurance company to confirm Jennifer Erickson (NPI 1497101620 or 1649821521). 

If you do not have Anthem, you would be considered self-pay. Jennifer can provide a Superbill, which contains information needed by your insurance carrier, allowing you to then submit directly for possible reimbursement. This is not a guarantee that your insurance will reimburse you for your treatment. Every insurance policy, including different Blue Cross plans, are written differently so it is important that you speak to your insurance carrier regarding your in network and out-of-network mental health coverage prior to your first session.

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Why Doesn't Dr. Erickson Normally Accept Insurance

It can be very frustrating to find a psychologist because many do not accept insurance as a form of payment.  I think it is important to discuss my reasons for not participating with insurance carriers.  While I did participate with insurance carriers in the past, there have been too many issues to continue this route. I do believe this change is the right one for me and for my clients. 

• Insurance companies require psychologists/therapists to supply a diagnosis as a means of getting paid for services.  This is an issue for clinicians and for clients. It requires me, after only knowing someone for a short time, to supply a diagnosis that I may not even be confident about.  As one works in therapy, sometimes our initial understanding of what your issue or issues may be can change.  I often do not focus heavily on diagnoses because individuals frequently don’t “fit” exactly in our system of diagnostic criteria.  What is best is for us to construct together, an understanding of your struggles and how they affect you and ways to help you feel and do better. 

• Or, you may be going through a difficult period in your life and are seeking some support but you don’t actually meet criteria for a formal diagnosis.  Well, in order for you to use your insurance, I would have to provide one in order for you to get reimbursed.  Or, perhaps you meet criteria for a mental disorder during this period of your life, but generally you do not.  Now there is a record in your file with the insurance company that says you have a mental disorder that you cannot control or amend as the circumstances in your life improve.

• When you use your insurance company, they often have a say about how many sessions you can have. Therapists are often asked to speak to insurance companies in detail about your care in order to defend their treatment plan.  This review process is not only invasive, but also it could wind up cutting your treatment short without much warning.  So, a person who is not intimately involved in your care, who may never have even treated clients before, could decide if you are progressing adequately in your treatment, irrespective of how you feel about your treatment.  In addition, the time required of the clinician to engage in the review process and provide required paperwork is extraordinary.  I feel strongly that my time and energy is better spent on tasks that directly benefit my clients, such as coordinating their care with other providers, speaking to family members, learning new skills, reading books, and taking care of myself as a human being so that I can deliver the highest quality care I am capable of.

• There is the reality of payment.  Insurance companies in Virginia reimburse therapists at a low rate that does not cover the cost of doing business. Solo practicing therapists are not able to negotiate this rate, therefore having no control over reimbursement. This can require therapists to have to work with a higher number of clients than is beneficial for their own work-life balance to maintain all operational costs. Additionally with a higher case load, there is inherently a larger administrative load as well. I prefer to deliver high quality, individualized care, that is thoughtful, and paced in a way that is comfortable to the client, not based on what an insurance dictates. 

• The administration of insurance. While the submission of insurance claims is initially easy with 90% of it being automated. It is the filing of manual claims, follow up of submitted claims, correcting and refilling of claims, and calls to insurance companies to figure out why they have not processed the claims that create hours of administrative work each week. While hospitals have teams of people to handle that, a solo practicing therapist does not.

• Finally, payment processing by insurance companies is inconsistent. Therapists may wait anywhere from 7 to 30 days after services have been rendered to get paid. Additionally insurances create insurance payment processing errors. While this should be an automated process on their side, and rather simplistic, the reality is they make an amazing number of errors in payment amounts the first time, and can even request money back 6 months after they paid. Then requiring the therapist to get the additional payment from the client, and again, this could be months after they have stopped working together. 

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I want clients in my practice to receive a high level of attention from me.  For this reason, I am removing the larger burden caused by insurance companies, other than Anthem. This policy frees me up to be able to work creatively and be available to clients in a way that I could not be if I had the administrative burden of working with insurance. 

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So while this creates an unfortunate situation where I am not able to provide services to those who really need to use their insurance for their care, I do know the insurance company can provide members with available alternative options in their area.