Health Insurance Plans We Accept

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We accept Aetna, Ambetter, UnitedHealthcare / Optum, Multiplan, and Cigna / Evernorth health insurance and are pleased to be considered in-network with these companies. Navigating insurance can feel overwhelming, so we want to make it as clear as possible how your coverage may apply to your therapy. Here’s what you need to know about the terms often used:

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1. Deductible
A deductible is the amount you must pay out of pocket for covered services before your insurance starts to contribute. For example, if your plan has a $1,000 deductible and you haven’t met it yet, you’ll be responsible for the full cost of each session until that amount is paid. However, some plans will cover certain services with in-network providers even before you meet your deductible.

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2. Copay
Once your deductible is met (or even before, depending on your plan), you may have a copay. This is a set fee you pay at each appointment. For example, if your copay is $20 per visit, you’ll pay that amount when you attend a session.

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3. Coinsurance
Coinsurance is a percentage of the service cost you pay after meeting your deductible; some plans charge a coinsurance. For instance, if your coinsurance is 20% and a therapy session costs $150, you’ll pay $30 (20% of $150), and your insurance covers the rest.

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4. Out-of-Pocket Maximum
This is the maximum you’ll spend in a year on deductibles, copays, and coinsurance. After reaching this limit, your insurance covers 100% of covered services for the remainder of your policy period. 

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5. Preauthorization Requirements
Some insurance plans require preauthorization before starting therapy. This means your insurance company must approve your treatment plan to ensure coverage. If this is needed, we’ll help guide you through the process.

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What Does This Mean for You?
While insurance helps make therapy more affordable, it’s important to know the details of your individual plan. We encourage you to check with Aetna, Ambetter, UnitedHealthcare / Optum, Multiplan, or Cigna / Evernorth directly to understand your deductible, copay, coinsurance, and out-of-pocket maximum.

If you have questions or need assistance, we’re here to help. Contact us, and we’ll do our best to provide clarity about your insurance and what to expect when seeking therapy at North Star Psychology.

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How Therapy Works at North Star Psychology

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All of our treatments typically involve meeting once per week for a session that is usually around 45-55 minutes long. Some clients benefit from more frequent appointments, which is something we can consider only if both of us think it would be helpful. As therapy progresses, we may end up reducing the number of sessions (meeting every other week, for example), or meeting for shorter sessions.

 

The first session of therapy is known as an “intake” – where we learn more about you and go through a fact-finding interview to figure out what’s going on and what our treatment plan should be. Sometimes we will need two sessions for the intake, but generally speaking we can knock it out in one. Intake sessions generate a lot of extra work on our end after the appointment is over, so their price is a little higher.

 

The cost for each session is determined by how long each session lasts.

 

Cost per session:

• Intake session, about one hour = $200

• Regular appointment, 16-37 minutes = $125

• Regular appointment, 38-52 minutes = $150

• Regular appointment, 53-60 minutes = $175

 

Usually, your appointment will wrap up right around the 45-55 minute mark. We won’t stretch the appointment time purposely to bill higher, but we recognize that sometimes sessions naturally go longer than anticipated. We’ll bill your payment method on file after the session ends based on how long the session went for.

 

We are currently in-network with Aetna, Ambetter, UnitedHealthcare / Optum, Multiplan, and Cigna / Evernorth. If you have a different health insurance plan, we can still work with you! But this will mean that you will need to submit a claim to your own health insurance plan for reimbursement. Generally, this means we will provide you with a “super bill” that lists the treatments provided, when and where it was provided, and for what purposes, so that you can submit your own claim. Please keep in mind that your health insurance will likely consider us to be an “out-of-network provider,” which means that you likely will not receive full reimbursement for your treatments.

 

If we are not in-network with your health insurance, you will be required to pay the full cost of each session yourself. Your insurance may reimburse you a certain percent of that, or a set dollar amount, or nothing at all, and some plans may require you to meet your deductible before they provide any coverage. We highly recommend that you contact your health insurance provider before starting your services with us to better understand what they will reimburse; their contact information is usually provided on the back of your health insurance card.