Insurance won't cover ADHD screening-what now?

[calicokitten]

Hi Everyone,

I’m in a bit of a pickle and need some advice on getting a diagnosis. I’m a 25 year old female in my first semester of graduate school and really struggling with school and social life due to ADHD symptoms. I’ve never been formally diagnosed and believe I was misdiagnosed with depression as a teenager (my understanding is that girls often go under the radar with ADHD). Anyway, I really really need some help and feel like a diagnosis could change my life and without it I won’t be able to make it through school. The psychology center at my University does screenings and gives diagnoses so I tried to make an appointment only to find that my insurance (student insurance) won’t cover adhd screenings, and without it the process costs about $1300 which I definitely can’t afford. So what now? I’ve heard of getting a diagnosis from a GP or family doctor but I don’t have one of those since I’m a healthy young person so I don’t think I could just walk into their office for the first time and ask for help.

Something that I tried which is most likely a waste of money is this: adhddiagnosis.com/. I paid $99 to take an in-depth survey and a psychiatrist registered in my state reviewed it and gave me a diagnosis. They sent me the adhd assessment along with a “provider assessment and plan” from the psychiatrist saying that I have mild ADHD. The site claims that this counts as a diagnosis and that I could take it to a doctor and get treatment/take it to my University and get extra time on exams but I’m not so sure. I know it was probably a really dumb thing to do and a waste of money but I’m desperate at this point.

Does anyone have any ideas or similar experiences? Thank you in advance!

[Spruced]

So I've done a lot of grant writing in the medical field, and looking at their website, I think that if your diagnosis is not genuine, they are breaking state and federal laws. At a personal level, and your doctor may feel similarly, I would not want to rely on their diagnosis in the long-term. Short of committing fraud, adhddiagnosis is utilizing licensed psychologists, but there's no telling how good they are at their job if they're working for a company like adhddiagnosis.com. That said, even if your doctor has some misgivings, there are off-label, non-stimulant medications they would likely be willing to prescribe. And your doctor may not have any misgivings at all and be willing to give stimulant meds a try.

Also, almost any time someone has an insurance company that says they won't pay for something, it's worth your time, stress, and psychological pain to find out specifically why they don't pay for it and if there are any circumstances under which they do pay for it. They are often pretty cagey about what benefits are covered under which specific conditions, and they will often say that something isn't covered when it is with a specific doctor's recommendation, or if you get the generic, or... Like a million other stupid insurance reasons. If you want a full evaluation from an in-person doctor, it could be worth following up with them.

[calicokitten in reply to Spruced]

Thank you for your response! I would actually like to get an actual in-depth diagnosis/analysis done because I think that would give me a better idea of how to treat it, I just used adhddiagnosis.com when I thought that there was not chance of me seeing a doctor for it. I wasn't sure if my insurance company wouldn't cover it for that specific place or if they just won't cover testing in general. I'll go ahead and call them/harass them a bit if necessary to get some more information. Thank you!!

[Spruced in reply to calicokitten]

Yeah, I would recommend getting the whole, long, in-person diagnosis sooner or later. My psychiatrist had some insight on what makes me bored (and inattentive) and had some tips for me. If I had synced with her more, I probably would have wanted to continue getting treatment from her as well. It's definitely worthwhile. I also think your current diagnosis could be helpful in the short term and was not a waste of your time. Our health care system does not make it easy to get the care you need in the short term when you have a long term health issue.