Many managed care companies subcontract the mental health portion of your coverage to another specialized mental health managed care plan. This means that the company name on your insurance card may not be the name of the managed care plan that handles your mental health or psychological coverage.

Some insurance plans allow you to use either the managed care company, or to choose an out of network psychologist, simply by paying a deductible and a percentage of the fee charged by the out of network psychologist. This option gives you much more choice in deciding who will provide your treatment. It allows you to select a psychologist who has experience treating your problem, and who has an office, and office hours, that are convenient for you. Whether you have this choice or not is determined by your employer, as all managed care companies CAN offer out of network options, but they charge additional fees to your employer for the added benefit. If you do not like the limited choices you have for selecting a psychologist, you might want to consider complaining to your human resources department.

The most important factor affecting your out of pocket cost for psychological services is whether you have a point of service policy or are covered under a managed care plan. HMOs and PPOs are managed care plans. Sometimes, companies avoid the word managed care because it has come to symbolize limited coverage and restricted access to the treatment provider of your choice. When insurance plans use the word "choice" in their descriptions, they are usually referring to their choice of provider, not yours.