Mental health and counseling services provided at MIT Medical are included with tuition. Services outside of MIT Medical are covered by your supplemental insurance plan—either the MIT Student Extended Insurance Plan or your other comprehensive plan.
At MIT Medical
Visits to MIT Medical’s Mental Health and Counseling Service are available to registered MIT students with no copay or other additional costs. These services are included in your Institute fees; your health insurance will not be billed.
Outside MIT Medical
When you see a clinician outside MIT Medical, those services will be covered by your supplemental insurance plan—either the MIT Student Extended Insurance Plan or your other comprehensive plan.
- If you are covered by the MIT Student Extended Plan, and you see a mental health clinician who participates in the Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) PPO, your first 12 visits in a calendar year are covered in full (100%). After that, you will have a $25 copay for each visit.
- If you are covered by the MIT Student Extended Plan, and you see a mental health clinician who does NOT participate in the Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) PPO, your first 12 visits in a calendar year are covered at 100 percent of the BCBS allowed amount. After that, your insurance will cover 80 percent of the allowed amount, and you will pay the other 20 percent. For all of your visits, your clinician may bill you for the difference between the BCBS allowed amount and his or her charges. This is something you should discuss with your clinician ahead of time.
- If you are covered by your parents’ insurance or another insurance plan, that plan’s rules will apply. Most plans specify the number of visits per year that are fully covered or that require a small copayment. For many plans, coverage may apply only to a limited set of providers.
Referrals
If you are already seeing an outside clinician or have a specific outside clinician in mind, you don’t have to make an appointment at MIT Medical to get a referral. Just call the Mental Health and Counseling Service at 617-253-2916, and ask to speak with someone about getting a referral for your outside treatment. If you are covered by the MIT Student Extended Insurance Plan, once you have a referral on file, you can fill prescriptions from that clinician at the MIT Pharmacy for a lower copay than you would have at an outside pharmacy.
Confidentiality
MIT Medical will not release any information regarding services you receive at MIT Medical, including information about prescriptions filled at the MIT Pharmacy using your MIT Student Extended Insurance Plan coverage. However, if you are covered by a parent’s or spouse’s insurance plan, as part of the billing process, that parent or spouse may receive some information about your prescriptions or other services you receive outside of MIT Medical. For more information, call the insurance company’s billing department or look for a toll-free number for “behavioral health coverage” or “mental health coverage” on the back of your insurance card.
