Posted by noa on December 5, 2003, at 11:52:52
In reply to Re: Rates » Rigby, posted by judy1 on December 5, 2003, at 10:52:03
I think that rates also vary a lot depending on location, how experienced the therapist is, etc.
My therapist also allowed me to negotiate a lowered fee. He had been on my insurance plan, but went off of it. In any event, on the insurance, despite his usual fee of $130, the insurance would only allow him to collect a total of $85, from a combined co-pay from me of about $22 and the remainder from the insurance (minus my annual deductible of $300).
After he went off the insurance, he told me that he could be flexible for continuing patients who have that insurance, and said I could stay at the $85 rate, which I paid and then submitted forms for reimbursement from the insurance company. THere would be the deductible and then they pay certain percentages for the first 5 sessions, followed by a lower percentage for the next 10 sessions and then a lower percentage for any remaining sessions for the year.
WHen he told me he was raising his fees last year to $145, he asked me to think about whether I could make an increase in what I paid, but that he would be fine with me staying at the same amount ($85). Since I was about to have a salary increase, I told him that once I started the higher salary, I would increase to $100, and that was agreeable to him.
The truth is, when I was trying to figure out how much I could afford, I really didn't know exactly because I don't have a really good sense of my budget. I think I should figure that out and see if I'm paying him enough or is it time for me to increase what I pay. Maybe I should do so if I stay at my job and get an annual increase when contracts are renewed in July. But I'll need to get help figuring out my budget. That's hard for me.
poster:noa
thread:286716
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20031202/msgs/286825.html