Clinical gaps include the need for better coverage for these therapies by insurance – many providers are out of network or do not accept insurance, although Medicare and commercial insurance plans often cover the cost of services in network. Health psychologists can be reimbursed for health and behavior codes for treating these conditions (CPTs 96150/96152), but there are restrictions on which other types of professionals can use them. Ongoing research is focusing on the cost-effectiveness of these therapies, although some highly effective therapies may be short term and have a one-time total cost of $1,000-$2,000 paid out of pocket. There is a growing need to expand remote, online, or digitally based brain-gut therapies with more trained health care providers that could offset overhead and other therapy costs.
SOURCE: Keefer L et al. Gastroenterology. doi: 10.1053/j.gastro.2018.01.045.
