Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by trevoristall 922 days ago
it's already prohibitively expensive for most people since most insurance doesn't cover it. Doesn't really seem like a solution. Edit: in the US. Can't speak for other nations.
1 comments

Due to the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008, most insurance does cover it. Depending on the patient's particular conditions there may be limits on the type of care and number of sessions. In many areas there are also practical access problems due to a shortage of network providers who are currently accepting new patients.

https://www.psychiatry.org/psychiatrists/advocacy/federal-af...

There’s a shortage of network providers because the network tends to pay peanuts, they mandate the usage of only a few treatment methods that may not be effective for the client, and make actually getting reimbursed a massive administrative headache (think many hours a week writing billing appeals instead of seeing clients). Medicaid is even worse and pays bottom of the barrel. The restrictions and complications that come with insurance repayment have lead a huge amount of providers to not bill the medical system, for simple personal economic reasons - they can’t afford to feed and house themselves if they have to deal with the lower rates and overhead of dealing with insurance.
If it is covered, can people afford to pay their deductibles and coinsurance every year if they take advantage? Or is it more like "covered?"
It's covered the same way that medical treatments are covered. Some patients have trouble affording those as well.