Paying for Therapy

Our nonprofit mission is to make therapy affordable for people who need it. We can see Medi-Cal clients for no payment, uninsured people on a sliding scale, and some private insurance subcribers at in-network rates.

Self-Pay

If you are paying for therapy out of your own pocket, your therapist will set your fee with you based on a sliding scale. We hope to be able to make your therapy sustainably affordable to you. Please let your therapist know about any financial hardships you face.

Plans We Serve

Medi-Cal

We have a webpage explaining how you can use Medi-Cal to pay for your therapy if you are a Medi-Cal subscriber. There is no co-payment, but there are some conditions to be aware of. Learn more here.

Medicare

We can bill Medicare for your therapy, if you have original Medicare, or Medicare Advantage with Blue Shield. We cannot bill other Medicare Advantage plans.

Blue Shield

We are in-network with almost all Blue Shield plans.

• FEP Federal Employee plans
• CALPERS
• Out of State Employer Blue Shield plans.

Carelon

If you have a Carelon Medi-Cal plan or a private insurance plan that uses Carelon Behavioral Health providers, we can help you. Submit a Request for Services here.

Anthem/Blue Cross

If you have an Anthem Medi-Cal plan, we can help you. No deductible, no copayment. Submit a Request for Services here.

If you have an Anthem PPO or HMO plan, we have very limited availability for in-network services, due to low reimbursement rates from Anthem. If you have an Anthem HMO or PPO plan, one of our out-of-network providers may be able to offer you therapy on a sliding scale, self-pay basis.

Aetna

Some of our therapists are now credentialed with Aetna for in-network services. Please request an Aetna eligible therapist if you have Aetna insurance.

Kaiser Permanente (Northern California)

If you get an authorization from Kaiser to see an external provider, we can help. Please see the Kaiser page for details on this.

Health Savings Accounts (or FSAs)

If you have a Health Savings Account you can use it to pay for services at Shine a Light. If there is a debit/credit card associated with it, we can run that for you. And we can provide a receipt for your records.

Victim Compensation Board

If you have received authorization from the Victim Compensation Board of California, we can help you with therapy for victims or witnesses of crimes. Here is more information.

Other Private Insurance

We are not in-network providers for private health insurance plans not listed above. But we can provide you a Superbill to submit to your insurance company for out-of-network benefits. But you can learn more about using your Out-of-Network benefits to help pay for therapy here.