Yup -- it's true. This client has NO mental health coverage. My billing people say this is increasingly common.

In fact -- it gets worse. As my biller says:

"The only information they would provide is that she has no mental health benefits at all and that if she received treatment prior to the effective date of this coverage it would not be covered for 12 months due to being a pre-existing condition."

The plan is US Health Group (A Unitedhealthcare Company) underwritten by Freedom Life Insurance Company of America. They are formerly known as "UMR" and still appear this way in billing systems and their snail mail address.

Apparently a search of Maryland's ACA (Affordable Care Act) Health Connection website for useful insurance coverage prompts a flurry of texts and calls from random health insurance brokers looking to sell desperate people trash plans not on the state exchange. In this case some high speed sales script reading was involved and the client did not fully understand what was being purchased. This is not a stupid client.

There are so many problems here:

1) The original outrage of no mental health coverage.
2) The possibility that NO PRE-EXISTING CONDITION MIGHT BE COVERED. (I have no reason to assume that statement only applies to mental health pre-existing conditions. I don't know.).
3) That client contact data from Maryland Health Connection government website is available to brokers of possibly shady plans.
4) That United Health is actively supporting and has some ownership in a plan that certainly at least smells like a SCAM, although I'm sure it sold as extreme cut-rate no-frills insurance.

This needs to stop.

#psychology #insurance #mentalhealth #psychiatry #covid #socialwork
#healthadvocacy #aca #apa @psychology @socialwork
@psychotherapists @psychiatry #psychotherapy
#covidisnotover #telehealth
@SuprmomcatCathy @Neurogirl1976 @siderea @notes @dramypsyd
#marylandhealthconnection #marylandaca
#uhc #unitedhealthcare #ushealthgroup #UMR #freedomlifeinsurance

@Etche_homo I do share your concern that the French government incentive to make "visible" institutes has led them to damage some of the rather unique collaborative structures we have. There are complexities with these joint research units (not just for bureaucracies, https://fosstodon.org/@mrak/109440495277559087 eg) but we have to try and preserve the useful part of that, allowing cross-institute cross-disciplinary teams to work closely together. Unfortunately this seems not to be the trend.
#CNRS #Inserm #UMR