You don't need to see a

Peter Schwartz — Mon, 30 Dec 2013 00:39:33 +0000

You don't need to see a psychiatrist to get treatment for depression.

You DO need an MD of any sort to get prescription medicines.

Most psychologists/counselors work with psychiatrists or MDs for that reason.

Since psychiatrists are not any better at therapy than many psychologists, the only reason really to see one (for most people in therapy) is for the meds.

Once the drug angle is eliminated, I would expect to see psychiatrists a little more interested in taking insurance.

Only half of U.S.

artappraiser — Sun, 29 Dec 2013 22:09:58 +0000

In reply to E.R. Costs for Mentally Ill Soar, and Hospitals Seek Better Way

Only half of U.S. psychiatrists accept insurance:

Health law may not broaden access to mental treatment
Many mental health professionals don't take insurance.
By Kelly Kennedy, USA Today, Dec. 29, 2013

WASHINGTON — The Affordable Care Act requires insurers to cover mental health care just as they do physical care, but a new study shows only half of psychiatrists accept insurance. That means access to care for the millions of people with depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health issues may be limited to those who can pay for treatment out of their own pockets, despite the law.

From 2009 to 2010, 53% of psychiatrists accepted insurance, compared with 89% of all other physicians who did, said Tara Bishop, associate professor of public health and medicine at Cornell Medical College. She looked at data from the National Center for Health Statistics and released her team's findings in The Journal of the American Medical Association.

"We saw declines in the last few years in rates of acceptance, and we were wondering why," Bishop said. "I think we've all heard a lot of patient stories and doctor stories about trying to find a psychiatrist who takes insurance."

She said she was surprised by the 36-percentage-point discrepancy.

"It seemed to be getting worse in more recent years," she said. "We saw similar things for Medicare: 54.8% of psychiatrists took Medicare, as opposed to 86% of other physicians." [....]

dagblog - Comments for " E.R. Costs for Mentally Ill Soar, and Hospitals Seek Better Way"

You don't need to see a

Only half of U.S.