In this climate of changing mental health insurance coverage, we strive to make psychological services accessible and affordable. We keep weekly open slots for new clients so that when you call you do not have to wait for weeks to get in. Our goal at Lepage Associates is to provide the highest quality mental health professionals at a reasonable rate (for example, our therapy rate is $195 per session, at the low to mid end of the current average rate of $185-$250/hr). At Lepage Associates you work with an experienced specialist/doctor. (At times we may also have students or license-eligible therapists in training, however, when considering students we typically choose only those for whom psychology is a second career so they are already older/mature with much life experience, and typically are transitioning into mental health from other health fields or jobs in education.) All on-site services provided by Lepage Associates are insurance reimbursable through your out-of-network benefits. The majority of our clients who wish to use their insurance do get reimbursements from their insurance company to help cover the cost of services. We are very knowledgeable about insurance and can help you file claims and get reimbursed. The process is simple: you pay us for services rendered and your insurance company then sends the reimbursement check directly to you. We have claims forms for all major insurance plans at our office and can, if you wish, help you fill them out correctly and mail them in for you. Or, it is also very easy to file your own claims, which clients often prefer now since the advent of client portals allows you to track your claim online (which is not possible if we mail in a paper claim for you).
Though we do not participate on panels, all insurance plans (except HMOs and sometimes Tricare) will still reimburse for our services through out-of-network benefits; in addition, some plans reimburse the exact same amount whether you use someone on their panel or not, thus it may not cost you more to go out-of-network, or the difference may be quite minor (see below for more in-depth information). We have found that for most people it does not cost too much more to go out-of-network, and we have found that when it does cost more to go out-of-network, the difference is not large, and is often a price people are willing to pay to work with a clinician they like and trust. And though it seems “backwards,” we have also seen rare cases where it costs less to go out-of-network. Thus if you want to know exact information regarding benefits, it is best to call your insurance company; we are also happy to check on your insurance benefits for you as a courtesy at no charge. (We do take a limited number of reduced fee or pro bono clients. Please call to ask about availability.)
Tricare: Many of our therapists are authorized Tricare providers and are non-network providers. Non-network authorized providers meet Tricare licensing and certification requirements, and are certified by Tricare to provide care to Tricare beneficiaries. Thus an authorized non-network provider is authorized to provide care to Tricare clients wherein you can likely get reimbursed some amount for their services, but has not signed a network agreement. Thus our authorized non-participating providers provide psychotherapy to Tricare clients, but since we have not signed an agreement with Tricare, you pay us up front for full cost of the appointments, and then turn in the claim form to Tricare and Tricare will reimburse you directly since you have already paid. This process is quite simple and we see many therapy Tricare clients who get reimbursed for our services by Tricare. Note some of our therapists are not authorized Tricare providers, and when you use one of these providers, you cannot get reimbursed any percent at all by Tricare for any services. Many Tricare people still use these providers when they find someone they like, but with the knowledge all costs will be paid by you and you cannot turn in claims to Tricare for any reimbursement.
Evaluations/Psychological & Educational Testing for people insured by Tricare: Please note we do not have any authorized providers who do psychological evaluations for Tricare, which means if you use one of our evaluators who are not authorized Tricare providers, and when you use one of these providers, you cannot get reimbursed any percent at all by Tricare for any evaluation services. Many Tricare people still use these providers when they find someone they like, but with the knowledge all costs will be paid by you and you cannot turn in claims to Tricare for any reimbursement. If you are court-ordered to have a psychological evaluation we can do it, but note such forensic evaluations are not considered medically necessary and are thus not reimbursed by Tricare. Also, typically Tricare does not reimburse for psychoeducational evaluations, such as to diagnose learning disabilities or attention issues (such as AD/HD), however, if you served in the Special Forces please contact us, as a Special Forces Fund exists from a private benefactor that may be able to cover the psychoeducational evaluation you or your family member need. Again, we can do any and all evaluations and have a large testing center and many years of experience in testing, but Tricare does not reimburse for our services.