Why We Opt Out of Insurance Panels

In today's complex healthcare landscape, accessing mental health services is often challenging. One significant aspect influencing accessibility is whether therapy centers choose to participate in insurance panels. While many facilities opt to be in-network with insurance providers, there are compelling reasons why some, like ours, may choose otherwise.

At DeepWaters LPC, our primary focus is delivering high-quality, personalized care to every couple, individual and family who seeks our services. Our decision to not participate in insurance panels is driven by several key factors:

1. Preservation of Therapeutic Relationship: Being in-network with insurance panels often entails adhering to stringent administrative requirements and standardized treatment protocols. This can potentially compromise the flexibility and individualization essential for effective therapy. By remaining independent of insurance constraints, we can tailor treatment plans specifically to each client's unique needs, fostering a stronger therapeutic alliance.
2. Freedom to Offer Diverse Therapeutic Modalities: Different clients benefit from various therapeutic approaches. However, insurance panels typically limit the types and duration of therapy covered, often favoring short-term, symptom-focused interventions. Additionally, insurance companies only allow "one client"; this is not an issue for individual clients, but for couples or families, this can be a problem: It means that mental health practitioners must identify one person to have a diagnosable, “medically necessary” condition. By opting out of insurance networks, we can offer a diverse range of evidence-based modalities, including longer-term psychotherapy, holistic practices, and specialized treatments, ensuring comprehensive care that aligns with our clients' preferences and goals.
3. Focus on Quality over Quantity: In-network participation often involves high patient volumes to offset lower reimbursement rates. This can lead to rushed appointments, limited session duration, and decreased therapist availability, compromising the quality of care provided. By prioritizing quality over quantity, we can allocate more time and resources to each client, facilitating deeper exploration, meaningful progress, and sustainable outcomes.
4. Enhanced Privacy and Confidentiality: While insurance coverage can lighten financial burdens, it comes with the exchange of personal health information and treatment details. Once a practitioner submits a diagnosis to insurance for reimbursement, that diagnosis becomes part of the client's permanent medical record. Certain activities, like working in the military, federal employment, obtaining security clearances, aviation, and other positions requiring health-related screenings, may be hindered by this record. Additionally, insurance companies only cover diagnoses that they deem to be “medically necessary.” In other words, they only pay for mental health issues that are so severe that they impact everyday functioning at work, school, social situations, or daily living. In order to receive reimbursement, mental health practitioners need to provide strong justification for the diagnosis and how it impairs client function. Opting out of insurance networks grants our clients greater privacy and confidentiality, as their therapy remains entirely independent of third-party oversight or documentation requirements.
5. Accessible Fee Structures: We recognize that cost can be a barrier to mental health care; as a result, we strive to make our services accessible through transparent fee structures and flexible scheduling. While DeepWaters LPC is not in-network with any insurance panels, our clients have access to the necessary documentation to request out-of-network reimbursement or to support the use of their health savings accounts. Please be aware that all of the concerns listed above about privacy, diagnoses, and permanent medical records still apply when a superbill is submitted.

Here is a handy checklist of things to ask your insurance company about out-of-network reimbursement.

At DeepWaters LPC, our goal is to provide client-centered, evidence-based mental health care that prioritizes client needs, treatment effectiveness, and privacy.  Our doors are open, welcoming anyone seeking compassionate support and professional guidance on the path to healing and growth.