Mental health affects how we think, feel, and act. It shapes how we make decisions, handle stress, and get along with others.
MMB and the state’s labor unions worked together during collective bargaining to change coverage of some mental health care in the Minnesota Advantage Health Plan. The changes make allowed mental health office visits free for some employees and others will save $20 per visit.
Call the number on the back of your Blue Cross or HealthPartners ID card to get an answer for your specific situation. Examples include:
Therapy.
Diagnosis and evaluation care such as substance use disorder assessments, counseling, medication checks, and therapeutic interventions.
The care may take place in an office or online.
Use a provider in your Blue Cross or HealthPartners network. If the provider isn’t on your plan’s list, you pay the entire bill yourself. The medical plan does not pay for out-of-network care.
If your primary care clinic is cost level 1 or 2, you pay $0 for each allowed office visit. You don’t have to pay a deductible before insurance pays for care unless you signed up for the High Deductible Health Plan.
If your primary care clinic is cost level 3 or 4, you save $20 on each allowed office visit. Level 3 is $50. Level 4 is $70. You have to pay your deductible
Deductibles, copays, etc. apply to care other than office visits
The medical plan’s usual deductible, copay, and coinsurance applies to care provided in a medical facility.
Examples may include in-patient care, day treatment programs, emergency or urgent care, and treatment such as Transcranial magnetic stimulation.
Call the number on the back of your medical insurance ID card for answers on the care you need.
Call the Blue Cross or HealthPartners services number on the back or your ID card.
Ask your primary care clinic. While a referral isn’t needed, PCCs have therapists with whom they work.
Call LifeMatters, available free through the state’s Employee Assistance Program. Counselors answer the phones 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. You may meet with one of their counselors. They also help connect employees and the people they live with to mental health care in the community. Any employee and the people they live with may get help through LifeMatters.
You may get care from any provider in your Blue Cross or HealthPartners network.
You do not need a preapproval from your primary care provider to get care for mental health or substance use disorder.
Many clinics across the state, along with Doctors on Demand and Teledoc, offer therapy online. Check with Blue Cross or HealthPartners to find out which online providers are in your network.
Note:
The highlights above are examples of some of the types of care people need. Your Summary of Benefits document—not this article—outlines what care is paid for and how.
