Posted by jane d on April 16, 2011, at 12:22:03
In reply to Re: Paying for services not yet rendered?, posted by Solstice on April 16, 2011, at 9:58:27
>They are 'in network' - but although their contract prohibits them from charging anything other than the copay, the contract doesn't address other policy issues. Most providers are in many insurance networks - so it would no doubt be a nightmare if insurance companies had the power to set office policies like that.
True. But this does sound like a veiled way to charge (and possibly keep) copays even without the service.
>Problem with the scheduling is that everybody is having to do this - so there is no way to get four weeks of apts that are same day & time each week.
Still, everyone may not actually be booking the full 30 days ahead. Many people aren't that organized.
>I hope the APA comes up with some guidance - so that therapists can be paid for their work consistently - without doing damage to crucial elements of therapy - like having a consistent day/time.
I think it comes down to economics. Full cost non preferred provider therapists do seem to do this more often. Of course they don't have to worry about accomodating policies that pay for different frequencies of visits. Or authorization that doesn't come thru.
> It surprises (and kinda hurts) me - I mean it sounds like - without my saying anything to imply it and without your asking any questions - you've jumped to the conclusion that I am a bull in a china closet mother who is ready to barge in without any regard for my son. The only reason this thing bothers me in the first place is Because I am sensitive to my son's needs. He's a quiet, contemplative type - nonconfrontational - and is in a 'system' that I fear feels powerful to him... like he has no choice and well.... I need to remember that I don't need to explain myself to you..Nope. You don't.
>
> > I can only begin to imagine how you must feel watching your son have to deal with this. And how hard it must be to figure out when to give him the advantage of your experience and when to let him get his own. But I do know how incompetent I would have felt if my mother had involved herself in a situation like this when I was just barely an adult.
>
> gee... it feels like I've been judged as a bull-in-a-china-closet mother - and I'm supposed to feel shame about being so insensitive (as if I am.) There's something about your approach here that is really hurtful. And I'm already hurting. I think part of my internal struggle over this issue is that I am Not inclined to involve myself. He is in school, lives at home, does not have a job (he's tried, but the economy sucks), so he is not self-supporting, and he is not self-protective. I hate for therapy to be the place where he has to learn to look out for himself... hence my pain. If anything, I feel bad about having been so hands-off... like I left him stranded to figure this thing out on his own - and because he's so young - he's unaware of the unusual nature of what's going on - and its potential to be counter-therapeutic for him. I've never spoken to his therapist. He has asked me to come with him at times, but he has never been able to get an apt time that I can make it.
>
> I appreciate support at this time, and assuming the best about my intentions regarding my son would be much more helpful to me that challenging me 'as if' I am an overbearing, insensitive mother.
>Actually I think I was assuming the best. I was trying to throw out a bit of my experience for whatever it was worth. I assumed that you would consider it and then accept it or reject it based on your circumstances and your judgment of what you thought was best for your son. Of course. I'm sorry you took it differently.
poster:jane d
thread:982589
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20110324/msgs/983014.html