Insurance troubles
Jamila McDaniel currently has a Black therapist, but has seen white mental health providers in the past.
“Which is cool, no problem,” said McDaniel, who is Black. “But sometimes I feel that, you know, with the issues that I have going on, they possibly cannot fully relate.”
Her time was brief with the therapists who often left to open private practices. McDaniel wanted to find someone she could connect and grow with. Insurance, as was the case with Pettway, complicated her search.
McDaniel, who struggled to find a therapist of color accepting her state-funded insurance coverage, wished she could have access to more mental health providers.
“So that, you know, you’re not feeling like, Oh, I have to get this basic treatment because this is what my insurance pays for,” she said.
Adults who identified as Black or Hispanic were more likely to have public health coverage, while those who identified as white or Asian adults were more likely to have private coverage, according to an early release of estimates from the 2020 National Health Interview Survey. Examples of public health coverage include Medicaid, Medicare, military plans and state-sponsored health plans.
The American Psychological Association commissioned an analysis that projected the national demand for psychologists to increase by 11% within the Black population between 2015 and 2030.
“I would say the No. 1 pull that gets a lot of clients in for a consultation with me is because I am an African American,” said White, the therapist who works in community health and has a private practice. “I think the second thing is insurance. And then lastly, the ones that stay, they stay because of the skillset that I provide.”
In her experience, a good portion of her clients who identify as minorities are insured through Apple Health, Washington’s Medicaid program. She accepts Apple Health patients, but she said many of the nonwhite counselors she knows of do not.
“The tricky part with insurance I think a lot of people aren't aware of unless you're in the field is that state insurance historically has paid way lower than private insurance,” she said.
The Link LonkNovember 23, 2021 at 08:02PM
https://crosscut.com/equity/2021/11/why-black-therapists-are-hard-find-wa
Why Black therapists are hard to find in WA - Crosscut
https://news.google.com/search?q=hard&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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