counseling, psychiatrist visits, meds, and parents' insurance

Parents Forum
1

hey guys, I have some quick questions.

I’m starting college next week and at the school, they have counseling and psychiatrists and stuff free to visit. it’s part of the students’ fees which I’ve already paid for, and we get 12 free visits. I’ll be a student-athlete, and I think our physician is going to refer me to go see the counselors on a semi-regular basis. I’ve dealt with anxiety and bouts of depression, and maybe mania, all undiagnosed, and I don’t want my parents knowing about these issues.

I know them, and all it will do is stress them, make their moods drop, make them angry, etc. I have to keep it to myself, for my safety and probably theirs too. trust me, I know them.

my problem is this: if I go over the 12 free visits, or if they prescribe me meds, it’ll have to go through my parents’ insurance because I can’t afford to pay for that stuff by myself without the reduced rates from insurance. my question is, if I utilize these services and it goes through their insurance, what will they see? will they see the charge is coming from the counseling services? will they see I was prescribed meds and picked up an order?

I’m able to pay for all this stuff on my own with cash, but only the insurance rates, not the non-insured rates. this whole ordeal is stressing me out knowing I’m going to have to get counseling or else I’m going to go crazy again. I don’t know how insurance works or anything, any help is appreciated man. thank you

2

Anti anxiety meds are cheap even without insurance. Call the pharmacy and ask how much Zoloft costs as self-pay. That should give you some peace of mind. Go to your appointments with a psychiatrist and get your mental health in order. Good luck.

3

I don’t see my daughters’ meds on our insurance, but I get an EOB (explanation of benefits) form each time she sees a counselor.

Tell the doctor your situation - he or she might have some ideas as to what you can do.

I’m so sorry you can’t tell your parents. That’s a heavy burden to bear. But even their anger/bad mood is worth getting help to make you stable, if it comes to that. Ugh, I wish I could talk to them!!

4

There are several issues to tease out here.

First, medical privacy. Assuming you are 18 or older, it is illegal for a doctor to reveal any medical information about you to your parents or anyone else without your permission. (Actually, the age of consent for mental health services is actually 13, but that’s a different story.)

However, you have identified the big loophole: insurance. Every time a health insurance company pays for a service, the holder of the insurance policy (in this case it would be your mother or your father) receives what is known as an Explanation of Benefits (EOB). The EOB lists the provider visits and the fees that the insurance company paid to those providers.

If you see an on-campus provider outside of your insurance system, your insurance company will not know. Your parents will not know. Unless the psychiatrist determines that you are a danger to others or to yourself.

Second, medication. I have never heard of an insurance policy that notifies the policy holder of prescription drugs that were purchased. The drug plan is usually a separate company. The insurance portion of it is handled at the point of purchase. I have NEVER in 30 years of having health insurance received an EOB for a prescription medication.

Third, your mental health. If you think you have episodes of mania, 12 visits will not be sufficient. You would need to be under ongoing care of a therapist and a psychiatrist. Moreover, an on-campus counselor is NOT equipped to deal with what you are alluding to. If indeed you are bipolar – which is usually the diagnosis of cycles of depression and mania – you will need an off-campus professional who is very skilled with this diagnosis. Do NOT take this lightly.

Fourth, dealing with your parents. If you have a serious psychiatric diagnosis and you are 18 or 19 years old, your parents need to know. You cannot keep this from them. Family support is ESSENTIAL in management of serious mental illnesses. I am not saying you have a serious mental illness, but extrapolating from your post, it seems like YOU may think you have one and you are trying to take care of it on the sly.

Fifth, I am going to give you unsolicited advice. If you think you have had episodes of mania, do not use marijuana or any kind of hallucinogenic drugs. It will make it worse and could trigger life-long symptoms that you might otherwise not have experienced.

Talk to your parents. This is serious stuff.

5

Typically, they will see the name of the practitioner or counseling center (ie, Main Street psychotherapy center, or John Smith, LCSW etc) or whatever name the practice uses for billing purposes. They will also see the dates of your visits so they will know when you went. They won’t see the diagnosis but will likely only see that it was an office visit.

For meds they will see that you received a prescription, though I don’t think they will see the drug name. Not 100% sure about that though, because on some level the bill will need to state if the prescription is brand name or generic as the prices are often different.

Assuming you are over 18, I suggest you call the insurance company and talk to them about your concerns and confidentiality. The phone number is on your insurance card.

6

Do your parents receive the EOBs in the mail or only electronically? How often do they actually log in and read these things? Yes the account holder can access all of your EOBs, but many don’t. Happydad is the primary on our policy, and doesn’t even know the logins.

7

I am confused. How are you paying for meds now?

8

thank you for the responses so far everyone. it’s helping ease my mind a little and I know more about how insurance works now.

9

I am not on meds now, these are all hypotheticals. I overanalyze and overthink everything, I’m sorry

10

Would it be possible for you to get your own insurance through your school? If so, your parents wouldn’t see your EOB. For the last year my daughter was in college, I figured out it was cheaper for her to have insurance through her school.
I am sorry you can’t talk to your parents about this.

11

We receive EOBs in the mail. I always open them because I want to make sure the benefits were applied correctly. If one came in the mail and I was unaware of anyone going to the doctor recently, I’d open it.

I also think the policy holder has to select how they receive EOBs–paper, electronically, or both. Without asking your parents, you cannot know the answer to that.

12

I cannot get insurance thru yhe school it’s not available for undergrads

13

I just received the EOB for my teen’s annual well-visit exam/sports physical (Blue Cross). It is very detailed as to each of the “events” that took place at the doctor’s office and what the insurance did (or did not) cover and to what extent. Part of her exam was a mental evaluation because I had some anxiety concerns. So, yes, your parents might see it. However, don’t let that discourage you … your mental health is far more important. (This was with her PCP; she was referred to a psychologist but the appointment is still a few weeks away, so I’m not sure how it will show up on the EOB.)

14

I thought every college offered insurance to students.

15

Probably yes – I can see all the claims made by everyone on my insurance on-line.

16

@bookworm yes every school has to offer it as part of Obamacare mandates – as a matter of fact you HAVE to buy it unless you can prove you have other coverage. But it costs money so still someone (parents) will know from tuition bill and ask WHY

17

As I said above, I would not recommend hiding serious mental health issues from your parents. Of course, no parent wants to hear that their child has mental health issues, ever. But if there are issues, they MUST know about it and come to terms with it. It is not helpful to hide it from them.

18

Zoloft is inexpensive but the counselor visits are not. You can tell them what you told us - that as a student-athlete, your physician recommended counselor visits while in school. If they see it as pre-emptive perhaps it will not worry them so much.

19

@lifeisfinite

I’m a parent. I have a kid in college who has been struggling off and on, has seen therapists, has taken meds, and she has a very strong need for privacy.

I recommend trying to keep an open mind about how your parents may or may not react. As a parent, I can say it’s very stressful to see your kid struggling and not know why, and not know how to help. Sometimes getting reassurance that your kid is being proactive in regards to taking care of themselves is enough to relieve much of the stress ---- even if we don’t know the nitty gritty details.

We know our D doesn’t want us to know what is going on with her ongoing, off and on, troubles. I wish it were different, but it is what it is and we have done what we can to give her unconditional love and support.

One thing we did was to explain to our D how her insurance plan works We made sure she knew what a copay was, how to find a provider, what in-network means, what to ask about prescription coverage, etc.

Although we were talking generalities, it was my intention to let her know she could (and should) seek out the help of medical professionals outside of university health services. As a baby step, we walked her through finding an eye doctor in the city she attends school.

Perhaps, as a first step, you can tell your parents you are feeling anxious and depressed. You’ve seen a counselor at college health services and the counselor recommends you see a therapist on a regular basis and recommends you go in to see a psychiatrist for a mental health check up. Say you think it’s a good suggestion and you’d like to pursue it.

Ask what you should do about using the health insurance, and if it helps you stay calm when talking to them, think of it as any medical problem that cannot be solved by the student clinic on campus. You’d tell them if you thought you might have broken your elbow and needed to get an MRI or see a surgeon?

Access to good medical care is a great gift parents can give their adult children. Maybe your parents will feel the same way.

Good luck!

20

Such good advice, @Midwest67