A look into affordable and accessible mental health care in New Haven
Affordable mental health care is not always accessible to young residents in New Haven.
By Josie Dooley
While awareness of children’s mental health care rises over time, its affordability is still in question. To look into children’s therapy pricing and insurance policies in New Haven, the News conducted interviews with the Yale Child Study Center, a private therapist, and a parent of a young patient. So what are the prices of the Yale Child Study Center and private therapy? What insurance do they take? And why does this matter?
The Yale Child Study Center has different specialties and a general waitlist that can range anywhere from a couple months. Heidi Grantz, a therapist at the Yale Child Study Center who specializes in Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and habit reversal therapy, talked to the News about certain insurances that the center accepts and how they try to ensure affordability. The Yale Child Study Center currently takes Medicaid (or Husky), which is through the state and qualifies people under a certain income level. In addition, the center accepts Yale health plan, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield and Aetna. Insurance does not always cover the full cost of therapy, however. For example, the out of pocket price of therapy can is around $225 for one session but often the insurance company pays much less than that. If a family has insurance that the center does not accept and cannot afford care for any number of reasons, that family can fill an application for a sliding pay scale which allows the price to be lowered.
The waitlists for the Yale Child Study Center can vary. A long waitlist, however, can increase risk of mental health crises. The center conducts many studies for people in waitlists that qualify – these studies often give money or gift cards to patients. The Yale Child Study Center is also trying to grow in clinicians because of the shortage in the industry, although it is not severely understaffed.
Overall, the price of therapy sessions may vary based on the insurance, service and duration.
Another option for patients is online therapy, which has some benefits; it reaches remote places that may be hours away from mental health care centers. As for the quality of the sessions compared to in-person ones, it depends on the individual and usually the age of patients. For example, younger children can walk away from the screen or get distracted easily.
Katy Macrae, a private therapist based in New Haven, charges $200 for an hour-long session and she accepts Medicaid, with waitlists that are usually around a week long. Macrae, when asked about affordability and accessibility of online therapy, said “it’s not necessarily more affordable but it is more accessible.” She said that she takes Medicaid because many people have it and need care, emphasizing that she thinks everyone should have access to mental health care.
Macrae told the News that “a common misconception people often think that therapists who don’t take insurance are doing that to make more money but there are a lot of insurance companies don’t reimburse very well or at all, so a lot of therapists have to fight with insurance companies to get paid or the insurance companies will tell the therapist months later they were over paying the therapists and ask for thousands of dollars back so it’s a bigger picture problem of therapists are often in a tough spot when it comes to being paid by insurance … Fortunately with Medicaid that’s not so much of a problem.”
Nichole Gleisner, a French professor at Yale and mother of four kids currently receives care for her eldest from the Yale Child Study Center. Nichole paid out of pocket for an evaluation from the Yale Child Study Center and began looking for a therapist that specializes in her child’s needs. Eventually, the center connected her with a therapist who was based in Colorado, so she paid out of pocket for her daughter to receive therapy online because this therapist was not covered by insurance. She said “it was $275 out of pocket a week … more than $1000 a month,” and that she was mindful to not splurge during this time. Three months later her daughter got through the waitlist for a therapist who specializes in her child’s needs and was in-person as well as covered by insurance. Gleisner explained that she was eager to make the switch but was nervous about what her daughter would say because “they had started with one person and it is kinda a lot to ask to start over with a new person.”
When asked about what she thinks of problems surrounding insurance coverage of therapy sessions, she said, “I would not be surprised, I feel like insurance companies are always trying to get out of paying for services.” She noted that for a long time mental health was regarded as not important or essential.
She told the News that she hopes this article prompts people to speak about complications or wait times in getting mental health care, wishing for more progress.
Mental health care is important for many reasons, especially for children and young adults. These reasons include the connection to physical health, prevention of self harm, and healthy development and growth. According to many studies, accessible and affordable mental health care is vital for children’s wellbeing, yet is still an area in healthcare that needs progress..
The Yale Child Study Center is located at 350 George street.