Why does my healthcare only cover psychiatrists but not psychologists?

Question

It will pay towards 10 sessions with a psychiatrist but not towards a psychologist. Is that the case with all plans? I live in Los Angeles, if someone has advice on a plan that covers please let me know.

Answer 1

simple answer

MONEY

because a psychiatrist will prescribe you some drugs and send you on your way.

a psychologist may take many sessions (more money for your health care provider)

Answer 2

Psychologists tend to be ridiculously expensive since many people have to see them multiple times weekly and the doctors often charge well over $200 an hour. So maybe your insurance company is just trying to save some money by sacrificing your mental health.

Answer 3

Psychiatrists may proscribe drugs while psychologists do not.  That is one difference among many.  

Answer 4

Because insurance companies will do anything to not pay out any $$$. The world has not yet accepted that we can't just fix ourselves. There have been laws passed in the last few years that require the some mental health coverage be provided but insurance still limits it to the bare minimum they can get away with. They like to call all mental disorders "behavioral disorders" so it sounds like we are just behaving badly and don't really have actual imbalances in our brains which would put them in the same category as say... diabetes. Hopefully times will change but it may take awhile. See if you can find a free or low cost clinic. Some psychologists will charge you on a sliding scale according to your income. My psychologist (who normally charges $200 an hour) saw me pro bono (free) for a couple of months during a really bad time and he only charges me $50 bucks usually cause that's all I can afford.  

Answer 5

A psychiatrist is a medical doctor (MD) with a psychiatric/mental health specialty.  A psychologist has a doctoral degree (some practice with a masters or social work degree) but is not an MD.  A psychiatrist will most likely prescribe pharmaceuticals.  Psychologists usually offer counseling, like cognitive or behavioral therapies.  Some health plans offer behavioral health services, while others favor changing behavior chemically.  Both have their pros and cons, but do research side-effects of drugs BEFORE taking them.

Answer 6

Money.  That's it, the long and short, the black and white.  Most health plans cover seeing a psychiatrist for 15 min once every few weeks, and that's only to see how you're reacting to the drugs.  Psychologists tend to be seen once a week for a very long time, hence costing your provider more money.

As for finding a plan....search around for one, you might get lucky.

So basically, if you can afford to see a psychologist on your own, you probably aren't worried about paying for health care, and if you can't afford one, well, health care probably isn't going to pay for you to see one.  What a great country we live in.