The Marriage Counseling Blog

Many people are surprised to find that the majority of their mental health counseling session is covered by their insurance with only a minimal co-pay. For many who are not covered by private health care plans or corporate plans through their work, Medicare is usually chosen. However, coverage for mental health through Medicare continues to be spotty in comparison.

According to the American Counseling Association:

There are more than 110,000 licensed professional counselors across the country meeting education and training standards on par with currently covered providers, and covering counselors under Medicare is estimated to cost only $100 million over 5 years, a drop in the bucket in the context of other Medicare improvements costing tens of billions of dollars. Senators claim the bill will make major updates to Medicare, but the bill misses an opportunity to bring Medicare’s mental health coverage policies up to speed with the practices of private sector health plans, which have covered licensed professional counselors for decades. The House-passed version of health care reform legislation, H.R. 3962, includes Medicare coverage of state-licensed professional counselors and state-licensed marriage and family therapists.

Providing coverage for mental health counselors and therapists should be a priority for the many that depend on treatment.

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