Have you ever called a mental health provider listed in your insurer's directory, but couldn't make an appointment because the information was wrong? You're not alone. Regulators know that insurance directories are full of errors. Here's what I found. 🧵 www.propublica.org/article/ghos... - ThreadSky

maxblau.bsky.social • 115 days ago

Have you ever called a mental health provider listed in your insurer's directory, but couldn't make an appointment because the information was wrong?

You're not alone. Regulators know that insurance directories are full of errors. Here's what I found. 🧵 https://www.propublica.org/article/ghost-networks-health-insurance-regulators

Comments

mlal.bsky.social•104 days ago

"Decided to tell a series of lies" is a very odd way to describe testing calls. They did the same thing housing discrimination testers do all the time—call and present a scenario to see if landlords are complying with the law. I don't think I've ever seen that described as lying before.

favcolor.bsky.social•115 days ago

We solved this problem for a family member by not using insurance at all.

Weirdly, finding mental health care when dangling a wad of cash at doctors works.

It cost less overall to have continuity of care than deal with constant doctor turnover, being out of meds and manic and all that entails.

smpa.bsky.social•115 days ago

I opted out in the other direction, admittedly not by choice - being disabled means you eventually end up on Medicare/Medicaid and it's much easier, particularly if you live in a federally designated underserved area (poor, rural, etc.) I'm stuck at agencies, but still, there's *some* continuity.

smpa.bsky.social•115 days ago

With my old PPO providers would suddenly be like "I can't handle UHC anymore" and I'd have to chase down a new one, whereas at agencies they do stuff like hire a guy who lives in the Philippines for half the year to take care of his elderly mother (his office was just left empty, it was very weird).

smpa.bsky.social•115 days ago

Admittedly this means half the time I'm assigned to someone who is partially funded by a federal grant to provide services to incarcerated juveniles or something (they can't stay with their current provider at the same agency, pretty sure the system is designed to break them forever), but it's fine.

maxblau.bsky.social•115 days ago

States have passed laws intended to protect customers from “ghost networks,” where health plans list providers who supposedly accept that insurance but who are not actually available to patients. But those efforts are only as good as their enforcers.

maxblau.bsky.social•115 days ago

Staffers with the New York attorney general’s office called 396 mental health providers to schedule an appointment. Eighty-six percent were “unreachable, not in-network, or not accepting new patients.”

maxblau.bsky.social•115 days ago

Arizona regulators also called hundreds of mental health providers. They couldn’t schedule visits with nearly two out of every five providers they called.

maxblau.bsky.social•115 days ago

Massachusetts’ attorney general investigated alleged efforts by insurers to restrict their customers’ mental health benefits. The insurers agreed to audit their provider listings but were largely allowed to police themselves.

maxblau.bsky.social•115 days ago

In each of those states, insurance regulators can’t point to a single penalty for ghost networks.

maxblau.bsky.social•115 days ago

Spokespeople for the state agencies told ProPublica that their “many actions” resulted in “significant accountability.” But ProPublica found that the actual actions taken so far do not match the regulators’ rhetoric.

smpa.bsky.social•115 days ago

First encountered this problem in 2002, and I'm pretty sure the reason my parents didn't when I was a kid is that they were in very traditional HMOs, like when my dad was mad at my mom for changing religions the therapist he took me to was in a building labeled "Cigna", or just paid out of pocket.

botsnack.bsky.social•115 days ago

I literally considered printing the spreadsheet I had made during my search onto a huge sign and standing out front of my provider office.
It's wild.
"Hospice care"
"Wrong #"
"Doesn't accept"
"No new patients"

Surprised I didn't find any veterinarians.

greggjlevine.bsky.social•114 days ago

In my experience, this isn’t just true of mental health providers. I have learned never to trust an insurer directory—I always have to call physicians offices to confirm they take my insurance & are accepting new patients. Quite often, it’s neither. It can take hours or days to hit the parlay.

jorgein203.bsky.social•115 days ago

I wholeheartedly recommend using directories like Zencare and TherapyDen instead, which us providers are able to manage ourselves.

drdoofenschmirtz.bsky.social•115 days ago

It’s infuriating the way insurance companies manage mental health. And if you don’t have an established dr, finding one is a nightmare.

cyclingennui.bsky.social•113 days ago

You could drop the word ‘mental’ and that statement would be equally true..

mdaware.org•114 days ago

https://bsky.app/profile/mdaware.org/post/3kszm3v673b2c

dreadfulpenny.bsky.social•115 days ago

Three pages, front and back, of shrinks and they either don’t answer the phone, aren’t actually shrinks, aren’t taking new pts, or are an hour or more away. (I don’t drive)

soletraveler.bsky.social•114 days ago

📌

altadenamom.bsky.social•95 days ago

Mental health providers are unreachable because we are not reimbursed at a living wage or a sustainable rate to keep a business open, so we are forced to drop out.

padawanjon.bsky.social•115 days ago

📌

klahn.bsky.social•115 days ago

Worse. I found a provider in my insurer's directory, went to 3 appointments, and then found out the directory was out of date and they weren't covered only when the bills came.

iamlouisebrooks.bsky.social•114 days ago

Same here, just recently. Were you able to force their hand and make the ins. co. pay-

klahn.bsky.social•114 days ago

Nope. I had to eat the cost. When the office figured out what happened, they gave me a bit of a break on the rate though. They accepted part of the blame for not running my insurance card immediately.

iamlouisebrooks.bsky.social•114 days ago

📌

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