In-network with Regence for outpatient therapy.
In-network for Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon. Direct billing, copay or coinsurance at the session, no insurance paperwork on your side. Most Oregon Regence plans cover therapy at parity with medical.
Request a free 15-min consultation →Direct billing, no paperwork on your end.
In-network billing means I send the claim to your insurer directly. You pay your copay or coinsurance at the session, and the rest is handled between me and them.
Regence BlueCross BlueShield is Oregon's largest local commercial carrier. Their behavioral health network is administered in-house (no separate brand to look up on your card), which keeps the billing path uncomplicated. Most Regence commercial plans bundle outpatient mental health at full parity with medical visits, meaning therapy is covered the same way a primary-care or specialist visit is. I'm in-network for the standard Regence Oregon commercial plans (PPO and most employer-group tiers). Regence is also the Oregon BlueCard host, which means out-of-state BCBS members who live or work in Oregon can usually access in-network rates through Regence via BlueCard reciprocity. On the practical side, I bill Regence directly after each session. The claim usually clears in two to six weeks (sometimes longer when documentation is requested), and at that point your portion (copay, coinsurance, or deductible amount) is what you actually owe. Your benefits portal shows the EOB. I don't pre-verify benefits before we start (Regence's eligibility lines run long and the information they give is often incomplete), but you can call the member services number on the back of your card and get specific plan details much faster than I can. The cleanest verification happens on the consult call between us.
If your specific Regence plan turns out to be out-of-network with me, you have two options: pay the self-pay fee directly ($250 per fifty-minute session), or pay the self-pay fee and submit a superbill to Regence for out-of-network reimbursement. Most out-of-network benefits cover a portion. Some cover most of it.
What you should actually expect.
What's specifically worth knowing about Regence coverage before the first session.
Most Regence Oregon plans have either a copay (a flat dollar amount per visit, often around $30 for an in-network therapy session) or coinsurance (a percentage, often 10-20% after deductible). Until your annual deductible is met, you may owe the full negotiated rate for the first few sessions of the year. Some Regence employer-group plans waive the mental health deductible entirely. Telehealth has been at full parity with in-person since the 2020 Oregon mandate. For couples and family sessions, Regence claims are billed under standard outpatient psychotherapy CPT codes; in my experience their adjudication has been straightforward.
For the full carrier list and the out-of-network superbill explanation, the insurance overview covers the broader practice context.
What to ask member services.
The cleanest verification before our first session is a five-minute call to Regence member services. Here's the script that gets useful answers.
Call the member services number on the back of your card and ask these three questions:
- Is provider Gerry McNamara, LMFT (NPI available on request) in-network for outpatient mental health on my plan?
- What's my copay or coinsurance per session for CPT code 90834 (individual psychotherapy)? And for CPT 90847 if we're doing couples or family sessions?
- Has my deductible been met for the year? If not, how much is left, and does my plan have a separate behavioral-health deductible?
If anything they tell you doesn't line up with what I'm saying on the consult, that's a useful signal: we sort it out before the first session rather than after a surprise EOB.
Questions I get asked about Regence.
I have Regence through my employer. Is therapy with you covered?
Very likely. The standard Regence Oregon commercial plans (PPO and most employer-group tiers) cover outpatient mental health at parity, and I'm in-network. The one verification worth doing is checking whether your specific tier has a separate mental health deductible or copay. Member services on the back of your card has that detail in front of them.Is there a difference between Regence and 'BCBS' on my card?
Functionally, for Oregon clients, they're usually the same thing. Regence is the Oregon BlueCross BlueShield administrator. If your card says BlueCross BlueShield and you live and work in Oregon, the plan is almost always Regence under the hood, and I'm in-network. The exception is if you have a BCBS plan from an employer headquartered out of state; that's a different BCBS arm and we'd verify on the consult.What about Regence Medicare Advantage plans?
I'm in-network for the standard Regence commercial plans but not for the Regence Medicare Advantage tiers. Medicare Advantage has separate provider contracts and I don't currently hold one with Regence MA. For Medicare-eligible clients, your options are self-pay at $250 per session or finding a Medicare-contracted provider. We can talk through what makes sense on the consult.Does Regence cover couples therapy?
In my experience, yes. Couples sessions are billed under standard outpatient psychotherapy codes with a clinical diagnosis attached to one partner. Regence has paid out on these claims consistently for me over the years. If you want certainty before the first session, member services can confirm; the more honest answer is that couples coverage depends on your specific employer plan's mental health benefit and how it handles relational counseling.
What I help with that Regence covers.
Anxiety therapy
Practical, multi-modal anxiety therapy. Covered by Regence the same way any standard outpatient mental health visit is.
Read moreDepression therapy
Depression therapy for adults who are tired of being tired and want to understand what's underneath.
Read moreCouples therapy
Gottman-trained couples therapy. Insurance coverage for couples depends on plan specifics, which we'd verify on the consult.
Read more
Ready to talk it through? Let's see if we're a fit.
Send a message, or set up a free 15-minute phone consult. You can reach me by email, call, or text. I'll get back to you within two business days.