I’ve never heard of anyone paying out of pocket for therapy instead of going through insurance. I’ve had several different insurance providers over the past 15+ years and never had an issue getting therapy covered.
Well, for instance, BetterHelp is not covered by any insurance, and that’s probably the most accessible therapy for everyone. It has more to do with your therapist than the insurance. You probably have dealt with providers that work with insurance. I’m telling you there are a lot that don’t for the reasons I outlined.
I also think you’re lucky or either the insurers are getting more bold about denying coverage. I’ve had to fight insurer’s on two separate occasions regarding therapy.
The easiest method is probably to get your insurance to direct you to therapists that accept your plan instead of vice versa. That’s what I always did.
Ah, yeah, and this highlights another issue. Therapists are in short supply in most of the country. If you’re in a major city, you’ll have a lot of options, but in a 2nd or 3rd tier city you will have limited options, at least in my area.
I have had to pay for therapy out of pocket, and it’s increasingly common for therapists to not accept insurance. There is a higher demand for therapy than a supply of therapists to meet that demand (esp. since the pandemic, but even before then), so many therapists realized they can just operate a practice without the hassle of dealing with insurance.
