(PS2-84) Examining Why Mental Health Clinicians in Private Practice Do Not Accept Health Insurance and the Subsequent Impact of Increased Reimbursement Rates

More than half of Americans with health insurance who seek mental healthcare are unable to access services. In addition to a shortage of mental health clinicians, many do not accept health insurance in private practice settings. There is little empirical research examining why some mental health clinicians do not accept insurance, but studies suggest that they are not financially incentivized, as they can earn more from out-of-pocket rates compared to insurance reimbursement rates. Other reasons for not accepting insurance have included additional administrative burden of managing insurance claims, difficulty being included on insurance payer panels, and restrictions/regulations of treatment plans. One way to increase treatment accessibility would be to raise the rate of pay at which insurance companies reimburse mental health clinicians. The present study will survey 200 mental health clinicians (e.g., clinical psychologists, counseling psychologists, marriage and family therapists, mental health counselors, and social workers) who work in the private practice sector and do not currently accept health insurance. The study will employ behavioral economic demand analysis to examine clinicians’ decision-making. The survey will address both the reasons for not accepting health insurance and the likelihood they would accept health insurance at various increases in reimbursement rate through a hypothetical demand task. Participants will complete the task (a) with and (b) without a hypothetical administrative assistant to lessen the administrative burden of accepting insurance. The primary dependent measure from the hypothetical demand task will be unit elasticity (i.e., P<sub>max), which identifies the point at which preference shifts from not accepting insurance to accepting insurance. Participants will be recruited through email listservs of various psychological organizations and will receive $10 as compensation for participation. If results confirm the hypothesis that an increase in reimbursement rates would lead to a significant increase in mental health clinicians considering accepting insurance, this study will provide implications for policy implementation.