#ncsw — Public Fediverse posts

Few therapists will do so -- but we could get away with concierge fees like doctors. My old primary care doctor took insurance AND had a low concierge fee. I was happy to pay it.

My old business partner and I used to half-joke about having a "Cigna Fee". At that time Cigna was being so much of a pain with billing and third party credit card payments that we were paying significant money to an outside biller in hourly fees to sort their mess out. I think we could have gotten away with it -- the plan was to have a fairly low one-time or once per year fee about equal to an hour of a biller's time.

#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork #union #unionizing #pay #healthcare #reimbursement #ShermanAct #APA #ACA #NCSW #inflation #wages @psychiatry

These wages no doubt look pretty good to some people. A few points about that:

a) Psychotherapists are paying off student loans for masters and doctoral degrees.
b) These are pay rate examples for self-employed psychotherapists. Rent, utilities, overhead, vacations, and sick time all come out of our own pockets. These rates are not take-home pay -- we are contractors, not employees.

I now know people in their 30s making $85K in public relations and marketing who feel underpaid. I have a former Medicaid client now making $120K (and gods bless, they deserve every penny). Other therapists I talk to point out:

-- moonlighting teachers command $90/hr. for tutoring

-- hairdressers, dog groomers and tutors get paid in cash and don’t have to carry liability insurance or be on call

-- "$65-$75 per head for cut & blow dry in my suburban area. Approximately a 30-45 min service. No waiting 30-45 days to be paid. Cash in hand. No notes to keep. No files to maintain. No clawbacks. Not on call for emergencies."

-- "Ins fees for 90834 range from $48 for the market place plan to about $80-$84 for BCBS. The average fee appears to be about $67 to $77." [This varies by area of the USA.]

Doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals have plenty of problems -- but seem to do better in pay negotiations. Teachers are underpaid, but largely get to benefit from unions. Psychotherapists need either the ability to organize/unionize -- or national associations with the money and capabilities to fight for better wages and take on big-money insurance interests.

-- Michael

#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork #union #unionizing #pay #healthcare #reimbursement #ShermanAct #APA #ACA #NCSW #inflation #wages #insurance #healthinsurance

@Email2TootBot