Americans would fight to keep their therapy
Americans would fight to keep their therapy
Study shows behavioral health benefits desired
If you think many behavioral health benefits are unnecessary, you may want to check with the four out of five Americans who say they would take bold action to get needed family therapy if their health plan would not cover it. A recent poll commissioned by the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) in Washington, DC, found that 83% of respondents would ask their therapists to be creative and find a way to get their therapy sessions reimbursed.
If their health plan denied coverage of family therapy sessions, 79% of the 1,000 randomly selected survey respondents reported they would complain to their health plan. More than 60% reported they would ask their employer to change the company's health benefits to include therapy. In addition, 88% of respondents reported they would pay for therapy out of their own pockets. Only 6% reported they would quit therapy, and 24% reported they would do only the therapy sessions reimbursed by their health plan.
Other findings of the telephone survey conducted by QS & A Research & Strategy, an independent research firm in Fairfax, VA, include:
· Only 16% of respondents reported marriage and family therapy is covered by their plan.
· An additional 16% reported they had behavioral health coverage but were unsure what it included.
· More than 20% reported they had behavioral health coverage, but it did not include marriage and family counseling.
· Roughly 30% reported that behavioral health care is not included in their health plan.
[Editor's note: For more information, contact: AAMFT, 1133 15th St. NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20005-2710. Telephone: (202) 452-0109. Fax: (202) 223-2329.]
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