Posted by Waterlily on July 5, 2001, at 16:30:41
In reply to Re: Locating Psychiatrists, posted by PaulB on July 4, 2001, at 15:42:04
HMO means "Health Maintenance Organization" - in order to see a psychiatrist you must first be referred to one by your primary care doctor (family or internal medicine). That's if you expect the HMO to pay at all for your treatment. You can pick which psychiatrist you see, provided he/she is on the list of doctors that the HMO deals with. If you have a good HMO you should have several to pick from. If you have a lousy one, then the doctors don't want to mess with the HMO, so your choices will be limited to the few who are either desparate for business or who aren't really concerned with how much money they make. (You can pick from HMOs when your employer has open enrollment for health insurance. Your employer decides which HMOs to offer to you). Not all people who have health insurance have an HMO - some have PPO, which is a bit more liberal with the choice of doctors but usually cost you more out of pocket.
Now, you can bypass this whole thing, pick up the phone book, and make an appointment with a psychiatrist if you like without a referral at all. The downside (a big one) to this is that you will have to foot the entire bill yourself.
My psychiatrist charges $75 for a 15 minute medication check. I pay a $25 copay for this (I have an HMO). My psychologist (a PhD) charges about $135 for 50 minute therapy sessons. I pay $25 each time I see her - the HMO pays the rest.
poster:Waterlily
thread:6925
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20010628/msgs/7094.html