Anyone getting priced out of intervention?

[Anonymous]

The place we go to for ST and OT just raised their rates. Our insurance rates are about to go up and money is tight in the workplace which means likely no raises in the new year. We feel lucky not to be out of work. (I just work part-time because I have to be the taxi-driver to therapies and work with our SN child). I have to say I feel really angry and hurt about these price increases in times like these. We are good customers-always pay on time. We would go to a place that takes insurance if that existed here. I am afraid if our insurance reimbursement goes down while rates go up, we will be totally priced out of getting the level of therapy we feel our child needs. I have said something to our ST, but not OT and there is nothing she can do-just following orders.

Anyone else getting priced out?

Yes, yes I know interventionists pay rent, and their costs go up too, but we are paying a huge fee already and when I think of the number of times I have looked in to see a speech therapist or OT writing notes when the 50 minutes are not even up, it frustrates me. Overall we felt our child benefits and we choose our battles, but now that all our expenses are going up without any extra funds I am wondering if we need to drop something and I can just try to do more of the intervention myself.

Anyone relate? Anyone have any good resources to recommend if I take on some of this.

[Anonymous]

We are in a similar boat. The therapists that do take our insurance are NOT the most qualified to address our child's needs. What's hardest for us, is that our dc needs to see a psychologist, and they DO NOT accept insurance, and insurance WILL NOT cover more than 1/4 of their hourly fee. This is killing us financially!

[Anonymous]

Yes. Cost affects our family so much that we just quit. I don't know how all of you who post on her do it? Where do those extra thousands come from in your families???

Because we are certainly in the top 10% of income earners nationwide, and yet we don't feel like we have an extra $300 a week to give to a an OT and an ST or PT. No way.

DS's situation is ultra mild so this is an easier call for us than some families I am sure.

[Anonymous]

I didn't have trouble finding a place to take my insurance.

[Anonymous]

I didn't have trouble finding a place to take my insurance.

What city or county are you in though? Not DC or close in, I am predicting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I didn't have trouble finding a place to take my insurance.

What city or county are you in though? Not DC or close in, I am predicting.

Children's Hospital in N.E. (which has satellite offices in Spring Valley DC) has the best OT and PT practitioners from here to NY--they take BXBS PPO, no idea about other plans. We used them for 8 years. It isn't like going to a boutique sensory place like Leaps and Bounds where the therapists do a lot of hand holding of the parents, but frankly, the therapists at Children's are far more medically qualified and I think that's the point of it, really.

[Anonymous]

PP here: also did ST there. Yep, we've done it all and we continue...It works!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I didn't have trouble finding a place to take my insurance.

What city or county are you in though? Not DC or close in, I am predicting.

Children's Hospital in N.E. (which has satellite offices in Spring Valley DC) has the best OT and PT practitioners from here to NY--they take BXBS PPO, no idea about other plans. We used them for 8 years. It isn't like going to a boutique sensory place like Leaps and Bounds where the therapists do a lot of hand holding of the parents, but frankly, the therapists at Children's are far more medically qualified and I think that's the point of it, really.

Have to completely disagree with you here. I have never been impressed with Children's. I have found vastly greater qualified professionals almost everywhere else I've looked. In fact, almost every single family I know that has dealt with Children's has been disappointed. Myania Moses, Leaps & Bounds, and Building Blocks are all MUCH better, unfortunately they don't take insurance. I've also heard great things about Georgetown and they do take insurance, unfortunately (and unsurprisingly) they have a long waitlist.

[Anonymous]

I think it's also going to depend on your child's diagnosis and why your child is getting therapy. The coding of the submission to insurance. Children who need PT for medical issues versus children with sensory issues or something more elusive.

[Anonymous]

"What city or county are you in though? Not DC or close in, I am predicting. "


Therapy was in Rockville. Insurance was United Healthcare.

[Anonymous]

Leaps and Bounds routinely raised my rates 10% every year, regardless of economy, regardless of anything. I'm certain she wasn't giving her therapists a 10% raise each year. I'm actually really surprised by this habit. If I had known that Children's had such great therapists I would have gone there years ago and saved the hand holding --actually, not sure I received such great hand holding. But we eventually quit L and B because it was gettting so expensive.

[Anonymous]

Don't be fooled about Children's! As one PP posted, you have to ensure that a certain therapist can address your child's particular needs. Certainly not all Children's therapists can help all conditions. That's where savvy parents end up frustrated, because the are savvy enough to shop around until they find the ideal match. And it is common experience that the 'top' therapists are in private practice, certainly NOT at Children's. Children's is a fine institution, but not known for quality PT, OT, SLP. If that were the case, the few quality private practices would be put out of business--those that don't take insurance.

PP who raves about Children's--I am very glad that it worked for your child. But it won't work for every child and every condition.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes. Cost affects our family so much that we just quit. I don't know how all of you who post on her do it? Where do those extra thousands come from in your families???

Because we are certainly in the top 10% of income earners nationwide, and yet we don't feel like we have an extra $300 a week to give to a an OT and an ST or PT. No way.

DS's situation is ultra mild so this is an easier call for us than some families I am sure.

I don't mean this to come across as snarky but you're in the top 10% of income earners and you can't afford therapy? What are you spending your money on? Does your insurance not cover anything? We're certainly not in the top 10% of income earners and most of our providers are out of network but therapy is a priority for us and we sacrifice for it. We don't take vacations, we drive old cars, we take our lunch to work, don't update our wardrobes much, shop consignment sales, don't go out with friends much (unless the playground/McDonalds counts), don't have a gym membership and definitely don't drink bottled water or get drinks from Starbucks. Most of our extra curricular activities are free or low cost. We try the in-network therapists first and if we're not satisfied with them we find someone better - often times out of network. Everyone we've worked with has been very understanding of the financial cost and has worked with us to maximize therapy either by stretching appointments out or helping us devise a home plan we can do ourselves. We also don't see this as a long term thing. We're willing to stretch ourselves in the short run in order to get a pay off in the long run.

[Anonymous]

We also struggle with the costs. We spend about $300 a week on speech and OT and our insurance only covers about 50 sessions per year (and we probably have about 120-140 per year with three per week and a few weeks off over the summer). But although we are worried, we cut back on other things to make this work. Everyone keeps saying that early intervention is key, so I guess I believe them. But it is hard with the cost.

[Anonymous]

Has anyone tried services at INOVA?