I was surprised to read the recent mailbag on YWN complaining about mental health providers not accepting insurance. The writer seems to suggest that private healthcare providers must take insurance, ignoring the reality of how the insurance industry operates.
As a dentist, I know firsthand the headaches that come with insurance companies. Over the years, I’ve had to drop participation in certain plans due to constant denials and delayed payments. A Chassidic Rebbe once urged me to take lower-paying plans to help the community, and I have done my best. But the reality is that insurance companies prioritize profits—often at the expense of providers and patients alike.
Many reimbursements haven’t increased in 30 years. Would the letter writer agree to work for wages from three decades ago? To suggest that mental health providers are greedily pocketing cash is not only misguided but borders on lashon hara.
I’ve spoken with mental health professionals who describe the endless paperwork and documentation required to get even minimal reimbursement. It’s no wonder some choose to opt out of the system altogether. Fortunately, there are Jewish institutions offering mental health services on a sliding scale—a simple look through local newspapers would reveal this.
Lastly, if someone feels strongly enough to publicly criticize others, they should be willing to sign their name. Anonymous complaints do little to contribute to honest, productive discussions.
Signed,
Dr. Yehoshua Canter
Brooklyn, NY
The views expressed in this letter are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of YWN. Have an opinion you would like to share? Send it to us for review.
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8 Responses
Ehh.
The biggest professionals with the most competence and “expertise” in this industry are the ones who are usually found to be the biggest creeps.
Why is that? Cause in this industry the more “famous” you become…(yuck)…the less oversight you have and the less people scrutinize you. Instead, clients trust implicitly and intimately. Of course, creepiness comes in all forms, including sucking money out of uninformed and unfortunate people.
There are good plumbers and some bad ones. There are some good electricians and some bad ones. I bet there are some readers here that can attest to that, and maybe some of them could present articulate letters describing the nightmares they had in their experiences.
Mental health is no different. There are good therapists, and there are some rotten ones. There are those that are highly professional, and there are some that are anything but. It is sheker to judge the whole of the field by the rotten apples, and this would apply equally to car salesmen, stock brokers, lawyers, and mental health professionals.
It is incompetent to tell people who need professional help to just pull themselves up by their bootstraps. You might be correct in noting that some people might actually be capable of that. But, as our Chachomim told us, אין חבוש מתיר את עצמו מבית האסורים. Many cannot overcome their difficulties alone. And it is grossly incompetent to advise them to do so. Go ahead and fix your own car when it gives you mechanical problems.
I do believe that the bad apples should be stopped, and that those who generate referrals to them should stop doing so. And this applies to professionals of all kinds. Mental health is no different. I do protest the sheker in broadbrushing the entire field of mental health therapy.
Lastly, insurance companies are notorious for commanding the access to the therapy by holding the purse strings. This is disastrous in all facets of health care. Last time I checked, those professionals with excellent credentials and expertise purposely avoid the insurance companies, where people with zero training in mental health will dictate what can and should be done. That is a greater nightmare, when these lay people can deny someone needed services.
Dr. Canter-
There are two sides to every story and while I definitely see where you’re coming from, as there are definitely legitimate reasons why a doctor doesn’t want to take insurance, it does open the floodgates for fraud and mistakes.
Medical billing is extremely complex- no one is denying that. If a provider double bills (or puts in the wrong diagnostic or procedure code) chances are that an insurance company will pick up on it. Most people paying out of pocket will not.
During COVID I dealt with a mental health “doctor” as the school said that one of my kids could benefit from some extra help which would be fully covered by NYS DOE.
Of course this “doctor” didn’t take insurance and his fee was $1,000.
We went for it anyway and he insisted on being paid through PayPal as a “friend or family” which I refused and paid him through PayPal “for goods or services”. (The former isn’t backed by PayPal while the latter is.)
I asked him for an invoice anyway so I can submit it to our insurance as “out of network” and he was hesitant because “he doesn’t deal with insurance”.
With the threat of getting PayPal involved and reversing the payment he complied and guess what? This “doctor wasn’t even a “doctor” he’s a licensed social worker.
When I read over the report it was full of so much sheker we had to ask a Rov if we were allowed to submit it. (He had taken a report he used over and over again and just put our kids name in there.)
The out of network rate covered by insurance was around $120. Now, do you really think that he didn’t take insurance because of the hassle or for some other reason? ($$$$) Do you think he really deserves $1,000 to take a name and put it in an already completed form (or even $120 for that matter)?
Before you tell me that he didn’t do anything wrong and that I agreed to that amount beforehand, please answer the following question. Would this “doctor” be proud or horrified if I’d publish his name and what he did for his friends and family to see?
Giraffe
I do believe in therapy and yes it’s not a cure-all or quick fix but it can be a massive help
What do you mean by occasional bouts of craziness?
Good luck
Giraffe, after having read your comments under the original letter, and now your comment above, I’m going to be honest.
You sound like you still need a lot of healing. I mean it in the kindest and warmest way. You suffered a lot, and it doesn’t sound like you actually healed from what you’ve been through.
May Hashem help you have a fulfilling and joyful life.
Giraffe. True. The old fashioned way.
Any worthwhile- and non worthwhile ideas, can be found on the internet.
99 percent of therapists are either creeps or money sucking creeps.
This craze about therapy being the go-to for problems will never make sense to me.
There’s an epidemic of mental health issues, including in our community. Doctor’s who refuse to take insurance are actually perpetuating the epidemic rather than helping people.
Want to save your money? Pull yourself by the bootstraps. I nearly healed myself from the unwanted, bad therapy in high school. My only issue now is my seething hatred for the mental health industry and how my ire is raised whenever anyone asks me “if I tried therapy.” And occasional bouts of craziness. I am getting better by avoiding talking with others unless needed or my family.