Insurance

Are You Covered by My Insurance?

Dr. Sussman accepts traditional Medicare as a full participating provider. If you have given up your traditional Medicare for one of the so-called private Medicare Advantage policies, we will need to check with your insurance company to see what benefits they would provide for you to see Dr. Sussman as an out-of-network licensed psychologist.

Many health insurance policies include an out-of-network benefit. For non-Medicare health insurance policies, we would need to determine what reimbursement you might receive for Dr. Sussman's professional services as a licensed psychologist.

Many clients choose NOT to use their insurance coverage, even when they have it. Here's why.

Even if you have some insurance coverage for counseling or psychotherapy, you may decide it is better not to use it. (Many clients do exactly that). Why? There are several reasons.

First, even where there is some insurance coverage, most policies provide for very limited services. You might have a plan that pays something like 50% of fees with a maximum of $1,000 per year (after your deductible is met). Or you may have a plan that limits the number of sessions per year to a very small number. In either case, most of the time, you will find that your insurance coverage doesn’t amount to much to begin with.

Second, if you do choose to use your insurance, you will usually be giving up both your privacy and your right to decide what help you want to receive. When you file an insurance claim, you give the insurance company the right to review your records. This data gets stored in a database for future use. The company often closely manages the services you receive, determining both the nature and the extent of those services.

In short, by using your insurance, you end up giving up a lot of privacy and control over your life for very little financial benefit.

So before you become a client, I will go over all of the options with you, and, with an understanding of all of the facts, you'll be able to make the best, fully-informed decision for you.