Health Insurance

You may have a health plan that covers mental health treatment.  There are advantages and disadvantages to using your health insurance for covering part of your fees for treatment.  By using your health insurance, your insurer will have information about your mental health treatment which may adversely affect your ability to obtain other insurance, such as disability or life insurance.  Your insurer will also require certain information about your care in order to reimburse Dr. Wehl, thus affecting the confidentiality of your services.  If you indicate that you want to use your health plan to partially pay for your services, you will be consenting to the transfer of your Protected Health Information to your health plan.  This information will include a psychiatric diagnosis, dates of sessions, treatment plans and sometimes the diagnostic assessment and progress notes.  The insurer or health plan will also set limits on payment.  Insurers typically have an annual session limit or dollar limit they will pay (although such arbitrary limits are forbidden under ACA (“Obamacare”) plans.  They often limit what issues they will pay to resolve and how long they will pay.  Some insurers require frequent reports about your progress and aspects of your life in order to pay for your care.  They will also set limits on what services will be reimbursed.  Marital therapy, for example, is rarely covered by insurance.  Of course, using your health plan will defray the costs of psychotherapy.

Dr. Wehl is a panel provider for the following plans:

  • Regence (and all other States’) Blue Cross Blue Shield (though not some of their newer, budget plans)
  • University of Utah Employees plan (UNIBHN) – requires referral
  • Medicare (and Medicaid when Medicare is the primary coverage)
  • Federal Blue Cross Blue Shield (Participating but not preferred provider)
  • PEHP (Advantage and Summit, but not )

Non Participating Insurers

  • SelectHealth/SelectMed.  These plans are not accepting psychologists for their panel in the Salt Lake City area.  If you have SelectMed insurance you may have an “out of network” benefit (usually “plus” plans) that could be used to see Dr. Wehl.  Be sure to explore the conditions of using your out of network plan.  You are encouraged to contact SelectMed and request that they cover your visits to Dr. Wehl.  Use the Member Advocate number.
  • Altius/MHNet. Dr. Wehl is not able to participate with this insurer due to their extremely low reimbursement rates for psychologists. You are encouraged to contact Altius/MHNet  to complain that their low rates keep experienced psychologists from participating on their panel.
  • United Healthcare, United Behavioral Health and Optum.  Dr. Wehl has resigned from these plans due to their extremely poor payment rates for psychologists.  They have been unwilling to negotiate their reimbursement rates, and have not given as much as a cost of living increase in over 15 years!  See why I resigned from United.
  • Tricare.  Dr. Wehl resigned form Tricare when the contract was given to United Healthcare in 2013.
  • Aetna.  Dr. Wehl resigned from Aetna due to their low reimbursement and unwillingness to match the Medicare fee schedule.  See why I resigned from Aetna.

Please note that health insurance cannot be used for the following services:

  • Custody or other forensic evaluations
  • Special master or parenting coordinator services
  • Divorce mediation
  • Reunification therapy