How Much is a Psychiatrist Visit With Insurance?

Planning to use your health insurance coverage to see a psychiatry provider? Insurance plans can keep the costs of mental health care services down — but knowing how much your psychiatry visits will be may help you plan ahead financially. 

The total cost of a psychiatry visit depends on a few different factors, including your insurance plan. But we can help you get a better idea of how much these appointments typically cost.

Below, we’ll go over insurance coverage for psychiatric services and compare what these visits may cost with and without insurance. We’ll also give you a few things to keep in mind if you do use your coverage. 

Does insurance cover psychiatry?

Yes, health insurance often covers psychiatric visits. However, the amount of coverage and the services that are included will vary depending on your specific insurance plan. For example, some plans might only cover a certain number of psychiatric care appointments. 

Reach out to your health insurance company to get details on the psychiatric services your plan includes, such as psychotherapy and medication management. This can help you determine whether or not you can use your insurance plan for psychiatry visits. 

Visiting a psychiatric provider vs. a psychologist 

Psychologists and psychiatric providers both help with mental health issues, but in different ways. Psychiatry providers are mental health practitioners and medical doctors. Psychologists are mental health professionals with degrees in psychology, social work, or counseling. 

Both may diagnose mental health conditions and provide psychotherapy or talk therapy. Psychiatry providers diagnose and treat mental health conditions with medications and then they typically will refer clients for therapy. Psychologists offer services that some psychiatric providers don’t, such as couples therapy.

Only psychiatric providers can prescribe medications as part of a treatment plan for mental health disorders or conditions. 

Psychiatric providers help clients manage mental health symptoms and address any physical symptoms that may be related to a mental health condition. They help individuals with a wide range of mental health conditions, such as depression, anxiety, ADHD, depression, and substance use. 

How much does a psychiatry appointment usually cost?

If you don’t have insurance or your insurance doesn’t cover psychiatry visits, you’ll have to pay the self-pay rate, which varies between providers and practices. At SonderMind, a self-pay appointment may range anywhere from $122 to $300 per visit. But again, this price varies based on a few factors, including: 

Location

A psychiatric provider’s location may affect the amount they charge for mental health care services. For example, those in more populated urban areas, such as large cities, might charge higher fees. The higher cost of living in these areas means that things like office space cost more, so they have to charge more to cover their expenses.

However, a provider with a private practice in a less populated area, such as a small town or village in a rural region, may charge lower fees. In this case, they usually don’t have to worry as much about things like high rent prices.

Type of service provided

The cost of psychiatry appointments without insurance may also vary based on the type of service you receive, and whether or not the visit is an initial consultation. 

This consultation is the first visit you have with your psychiatric provider. They’ll spend most of your first appointment learning more about you, your current symptoms, and your medical and mental health history. 

Follow-up visits may cost less, especially if they’re just brief medication management appointments. At these visits, your provider will see how things are going with your current treatment plan and/or prescription medication and make any needed adjustments or changes. 

Reputation and experience of the psychiatric provider 

A psychiatric provider’s reputation as a mental health and medical professional — and their level of experience — may affect the cost of their services. Those with a great reputation may be in higher demand, causing them to charge higher fees. 

Those with a higher level of experience may also charge more for their services. This experience comes with years of training, licensing, continuing education, and other expenses, so they have to charge more to make up for these professional investments.

Length of visit 

How long your psychiatry visits are may also impact their cost. Longer visits, such as initial consultations, tend to be more expensive than shorter appointments. These visits take up more of the provider’s time, leading to higher costs. 

Brief visits, such as follow-up appointments, typically cost less than longer ones. Visits for medication management are usually shorter and cost less as well. 

How much does a psychiatry visit cost with insurance?

It’s hard to give an out-of-pocket range for a psychiatry visit with insurance, as these plans vary so much. Deductibles, copays, and other factors affect the overall cost of appointments. 

The best way to find out what your out-of-pocket costs will be is to contact your insurance company directly. Ask for detailed information on mental health care services coverage for your health insurance plan. 

They can tell which copays you’re responsible for, your deductible, the types of psychiatric services they cover, and the number of visits that are included in your plan. 

If you decide not to use insurance, see our self-pay rates for psychiatry to get a better idea of the costs for these visits with SonderMind providers. 

Factors to consider when using insurance 

If you choose to use your insurance coverage — or if you’re trying to decide whether or not to use it — there are a few more factors that may impact your appointment costs:

In-network vs. out-of-network

Each insurance company has a network of preferred doctors, and they will cover much more of the cost when you see one of their in-network providers. 

For example, an insurance company might cover 100% of the cost to see an in-network provider, but only 30% of the cost to see an out-of-network provider. They may also cover more services from in-network providers than out-of-network ones. 

To keep your costs as low as possible while using insurance, look for a psychiatric provider within your insurance company’s network.

Copays and deductibles 

Depending on your insurance plan, you might have to pay a copay and/or meet your deductible before your insurance covers the cost of your psychiatry visits.

A copay is the amount you pay upfront for your visit. If you’re seeing a provider in person, you’ll likely need to pay a copay at the time of your appointment. If you see a provider for virtual visits, such as online therapy, they might ask for payment before or during your appointment. 

A deductible is the amount you have to pay before your health coverage kicks in for mental health services. With some insurance plans, you’re responsible for paying all costs for psychiatry visits until you reach your deductible. 

For example, if you have a $1,000 deductible, you would need to pay $1,000 out of pocket. Once you reach that amount, your insurance plan begins to cover your psychiatrist appointments. Keep in mind that your co-pays don’t count toward meeting your deductible. 

Meet with an insurance-approved psychiatrist with SonderMind 

Insurance coverage and health care prices can be confusing, and there are a lot of different factors that affect how much you’ll pay for a psychiatry appointment. But you should now have a better understanding of why these costs vary so much. 

Again, it’s always best to talk to your insurance provider if you’re planning to use your insurance coverage for these visits. 

And if you’re looking for a convenient way to find an insurance-approved psychiatric provider to help with mental health concerns, SonderMind is here. At SonderMind, we can connect you with a provider who is in-network with your insurance company, so you can receive treatment quickly and affordably. 

Check out SonderMind today and get started with a psychiatry provider who fits your insurance and your budget.