You can contact L.A. care member services or use L.A. care online provider directory or Ask Your PCP for referrals, if You live in Los Angeles County or have Medi-Cal in LA. If You are an outsider and living in other counties or have Medi-Cal in other counties, Contact Your County’s Medi-Cal Managed care Plan or consult Your PCP to find Therapists that accept Medi-Cal Near You.
Why more and more people searching for “Therapists that accept Medi-Cal Near them” because they need therapists, Yes of course. But why the trend is increasing?
Then I got the answer
I was looking at the data given by National Institute of Mental Health and found a strong relation between the data and upward trend of searches.
As per the survey over 58 million adults were suffering from Mental Illness in 2021. Which is roughly 23% of the total population of adults in USA. And the more shocking fact is the mental illness is much higher among females (28%) that males (18.5%).
I think You got my point.
Let’s focus on our main topic. If You are searching for Medi-Cal Therapists in Your nearby area, the steps are mentioned below.
Therapists that Accept Medi-Cal Near You
As we discussed earlier that Mental Health and Substance use disorder are the major issues among American Society. But the real question is “What the Governments are doing to tackle this issue?”
The governments are taking multiple steps and Medi-Cal Insurance facility is one of those steps.
But the reality is “Medi-Cal Managed care plan is not capable of tacking this issue alone”.
Why am I saying so?
Because the process, adaptability, and results are not very promising.
Anyways I’ll discuss the issues in the execution of plan later in this article.
Let’s learn the process of finding Therapists that accept Medi-Cal Near You.
There are two situations.
If You have Medi-Cal in Los Angeles County
If You have Medi-Cal in Los Angeles County it is much easier for You to find Therapists that accept Medi-Cal in Your nearby area. There is a separate department called L.A. Care in Los Angeles which makes everything smooth for its residents.
The members can take advantage of the services offered by L.A. care through Medi-Cal Managed care Plan. The services may include Mental health and Substance use disorder services and also Therapy sessions with qualified providers if prescribed.
The L.A. care offers a vast network of Mental Health providers and Therapists who accept Medi-Cal. There is an important point that I want to mention that “All the specialized Mental Health services can’t be accessed by L.A. care, You may need to go through Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health in some cases.”
If You have Medi-Cal Managed Care Plan in Los Angeles You can find Therapists that accept Medi-Cal by following any of the steps below.
- You can call Your L.A. care Member services and ask them to guide finding Medi-Cal Therapists in Your Nearby area. They’ll either guide You or will provide the contact details and address of therapists.
- There is an online provider directory given by L.A. care containing details of in-network health care providers. You can find the directory here and search for the therapists in Your nearby area. But I want to mention that this directory is not very user friendly. You may get frustrated using this directory so try to find the therapists using the first option.
- You can ask Your Primary care provider for referral. It is an easy and most effective way to find the best therapist who accept Medi-cal.
If You have Medi-Cal in other Counties
If You are a Medi-Cal managed Care beneficiary in counties other than Los Angeles, the process of finding therapists that accept Medi-Cal near You is going to be a bit different like in San Diego County and Orange County.
Let’s find Medi-Cal Therapists near You
There are one or more Medi-Cal Managed care plans in each counties in California that’s why it is important to know Your exact plan before starting Your search. If You do not have any documents then Visit the California Department of Healthcare services or call Medi-Cal helpline 1-800-541-5555 for plan details.
Find the contact details of all Medi-Cal Managed Care Providers in each county in this article.
Once You have found You plan details, Call their Member services department and ask them for assistance. The member service department may provide the list of in-network therapists with their contact number and addresses.
You can also contact your County Mental Health Department and get information on accessing Therapy services or finding the Medi-Cal Therapists in Your Nearby area. Sometimes County Mental Health Department deals with mental health issue related services instead of Medi-Cal Managed Care Plan. Find the List of County Mental Health Departments here.
One of the most easiest way to find Therapists that accept Medi-Cal is to consult Your Primary Care Provider (PCP). Your PCP will not only suggest the best Therapist in Your area but also may provide referral which may help You a lot.
There are some Medi-Cal Managed care Plans who run their own directory of Healthcare providers. You can find the directory depending on Your Plan and search for Therapists in Near your location. But I’ll suggest to use other options because the directory thing is neither very user friendly nor comprehensive.
The beneficiary can also approach to Local Community Health clinics, Social Service agencies, and non-profit Organizations to get information about Therapists that accept Medi-Cal. Sometimes You may also get referrals from them without any efforts.
interesting! Isn’t it?
Challenges in Finding Medi-Cal Therapists
The Medi-Cal Health Insurance is making positive impacts on the life of low income individuals and families but there are some caveats which needs to be addressed by government.
The Therapists do not want to register with Medi-Cal Managed care Plans because of the low reimbursement rates as compared to Medicare and Private Health insurance plans.
This is also the major reason due to which most Therapists don’t want to accept Medi-Cal patients and the registered Therapists gets over crowded. This problem is equally challenging for both Mental Therapists as well as Physical therapists.
The handbook provided by Medi-Cal also does not provide any specific information related to reimbursement rates for Therapists who accept Medi-Cal Managed Care Plans.
Final Remarks
If You are looking for the Therapists that accept Medi-Cal Near You, It is important to know that the number of such Therapists are low. The beneficiaries having Medi-Cal in Los Angeles County can find Medi-Cal therapists very easily by L.A. care.
The beneficiaries living in other counties can find Medi-Cal therapists by calling the Member service number of their plan.
As we discussed earlier there are many issues related to execution of Medi-Cal Insurance but the L.A. care and other Medi-Cal Managed Care plans are continuously working to maintain an efficient network of Mental Health providers including therapists.
In case You face any difficulty finding Medi-Cal Therapists Near You, Contact Your Plan’s member service for assistance and guidance.
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