Online therapy with insurance: how it works

Plans I’m in network with through Alma

• Aetna
• Cigna
• Carelon
• Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts
• Optum plans, including UnitedHealthcare, Oscar and Oxford

Coverage depends on your specific plan, not only the insurance company’s name. Alma checks your plan before your first session and shows an estimate of your cost.

Check Insurance and Availability on Alma →

How booking works

1. Open my Alma profile and choose to check your insurance.
2. Enter your plan details in Alma’s secure form.
3. Alma tells you whether your plan covers sessions with me and shows an estimate of your cost, including any copay, coinsurance or deductible.
4. Pick a time and book. Alma bills your plan.

Questions worth asking your plan

• Does my plan cover therapy by video (telehealth)?
• What’s my deductible, and how much of it have I met this year?
• Is there a copay or coinsurance for each session?
• Are there limits on the number of sessions, or is pre-approval needed?
• Do I need a referral from my primary care doctor?
• Do I have out-of-network benefits, if it ever comes to that?

What insurance usually covers, and what it doesn’t

Health plans generally cover individual psychotherapy when it’s medically necessary. In practice that usually means a diagnosis goes on your claim. We’ll talk about that in the first session.

Plans usually don’t cover coaching; my Care Map coaching is private-pay. Help hiring a nanny or choosing care isn’t covered either. Coverage for couples and family sessions varies by plan, so ask before you book one.

Federal parity law generally requires that mental health benefits be no more restrictive than medical and surgical benefits in the same plan.

What I help with

Individual therapy for adults, including:

How the Care Map Method™ shapes our sessions

The Care Map Method™ is the framework I use to organize our work, alongside a standard clinical assessment. It isn’t a separate tested treatment. It keeps four kinds of needs in view:

Then we work in four steps:

1. Map the emotion and trigger. We look at a recent hard moment closely: what set it off and what you felt.
2. Match the need with a strategy. We name the need underneath and choose one strategy that fits it.
3. Merge the strategy into daily life. We put the strategy into a real day of your week.
4. Manage communication and responses. We practice the conversations involved, review what happened and adjust.

Questions people ask

How much will therapy cost with my insurance?

It depends on your plan’s copay, coinsurance and deductible. Alma shows an estimate before you book.

Do I need a diagnosis to use insurance?

Insurance generally pays for treatment that’s medically necessary, which usually means a diagnosis on your claim. Some people choose to pay privately for that reason; we can talk it through.

Can I use my employee assistance program (EAP)?

An EAP is a separate benefit with its own network and session limits. Ask your EAP whether I’m included. If not, you can use your health plan through Alma.

What if my plan isn’t listed?

The plans on this page are the ones I’m currently in network with through Alma. If yours isn’t listed, email tammy@caremapmethod.com with a general question. Please don’t include plan numbers or health details.

Do you take my insurance?

I see clients through Alma, and through Alma I’m in network with Aetna, Cigna, Carelon, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, and Optum plans including UnitedHealthcare, Oscar and Oxford. Coverage still depends on your specific plan. Alma checks it before your first appointment, including any copay or deductible. Please share plan and health details through Alma’s secure intake, not by text or email.

Where do I need to be during sessions?

Sessions are online by video, and you need to be physically in California, New Jersey, Oregon or Maine during each one. Your insurance plan can come from another state; what matters for licensing is where you are during the session. Alma checks whether your plan covers sessions with me.

Sources and resources

• U.S. Department of Labor: Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Parity

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