CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield (BCBS) Counseling & Therapy in Baltimore Maryland

I am pleased to now be accepting CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield for counseling and therapy at my Baltimore City location in Mt. Washington Village.  I am a provider for all CareFirst plans such as BlueChoice®, HealthyBlue®, Point of Service (POS) Indemnity plans, Preferred Provider (PPO) plans, Exclusive Provider Organization (EPO), and the Federal Employee Program (FEP).

As a general rule I can accept most Blue Cross Blue Shield plans from across the country due to cooperation amongst the BCBS plans.  You may see or hear terms such as National Account Service Company (NASCO), National Account, BlueCard®, BlueProduct®, and GeoBlue®.

Being a network provider paneled with CareFirst BCBS allows me to serve a wide variety of mental health counseling and therapy needs for adults and couples including depression, anxiety, trauma, grief, life transitions, and more — all in a holistic manner.

BCBS plans vary widely in terms of co-pays, deductibles, and even compensation given to providers, therapists, and counselors.  I have clients who pay NOTHING for their psychotherapy sessions, while others have $40 co-pays and $1500 deductibles and frequently pay the full cost of in-network negotiated session rates.

I am happy to have my billing company provide an estimate of coverage if given enough time the check ahead of the first session.  This can be very helpful in determining what your costs will be in seeking help.  Final determination is subject to the Explanation of Benefits (EOB) provided by the insurance company – but most of the time we can get an accurate estimate for you.  You may also wish to call your insurance company and double-check.  Here are some questions that you might want to ask:

1) Do you need a referral or approval from your primary care physician (PCP)?

3) Do you need a pre-authorization to start seeing a counselor?

4) Do you have a deductible and have you met it?  What is the annual date it starts over?

5) What is your co-pay or co-insurance?

6) What is the coverage amount per therapy session?  (Which matters to you if you have a deductible.)

7) How many sessions are you allowed?

Using insurance can be confusing.  I try to help by taking several insurances, providing estimates of coverage ahead of time when requested, and handing billing and paperwork.

I have a YouTube video that explains many of the terms (like co-pay, deductible, etc.) used in insurance.  You can find the video by clicking here.

CareFirst, BlueCross BlueShield, BCBS, BlueChoice®, HealthyBlue®, Federal Employee Program (FEP), National Account Service Company, NASCO, BlueCard®, BlueProduct®, GeoBlue®, Magellan, and APS Healthcare are all terms owned and in some cases registered by their respective owners.  I make no claims of ownership or representation other than simply being a counselor on panel and able to accept these plans as of 10-08-21