Can I Get Therapy Fully Covered by Insurance?
You've probably heard that therapy is expensive. Maybe you've already tried to find a therapist and kept hitting the same walls. They don't take your insurance. They have a months-long waitlist. Or they just weren't a good fit.
So when someone tells you therapy could cost you nothing, it's hard to believe.
Can you get therapy fully covered by insurance? For many people, yes. At Bluebird Therapy Center, a lot of our clients pay $0 for therapy every week! Here's who and how to find out if you're one of them.
Who can get therapy fully covered by insurance?
It all depends on your plan. But at Bluebird, the people who pay nothing usually fall into one of three groups.
1. If you have Medicaid or NJ FamilyCare
Bluebird is in-network with four NJ FamilyCare plans:
Aetna Better Health of New Jersey,
Horizon NJ Health,
UnitedHealthcare Community Plan,
Wellpoint.
If you're a member of one of them, therapy at Bluebird costs you nothing.
If you have a different Medicaid managed care plan, call your plan and ask whether therapy is covered and who's in-network.
If you have Medicare
Some Medicare clients pay $0 too. It comes down to your specific Medicare plan and whether you have secondary insurance. Often, the secondary plan picks up the coinsurance Medicare doesn't cover, so nothing is left for you to pay.
If you have insurance through work or a commercial plan
Some job-based and commercial plans have no copay at all for mental health. With many others, the copay is around $15 to $25 a session.
You can also reach $0 by meeting your out-of-pocket maximum. That's the most you'll pay for all, covered, in-network health care in a plan year. Once you hit it, your insurance pays for the rest of the year. (We break down job-based plans more in Does Employer Insurance Cover Therapy?)
Want to know where you land? Fill out our insurance form and we'll check your plan for you, free.
A real example: a hard year that came with free therapy
One Bluebird Therapy Center client had spent money on therapy in the past, because their insurance wasn't covering it.
Unfortunately, they got o to a car crash. The medical bills piled up fast, and by the middle of the year they had met their deductible and their out-of-pocket maximum.
That meant every covered doctor and health visit for the rest of the year cost them nothing. Including therapy. They started seeing a therapist at Bluebird, fully covered, and worked through the trauma of the crash and the health problems that came with it.
A terrible year, but at least the help they needed didn't cost them anything.
What happens when the new year starts?
Deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums reset each plan year, usually in January. So if your therapy is free now because you've met yours, it's smart to plan ahead.
We talk about it with you before the year ends. If you want to keep going, we can look at sessions every other week, shorter sessions, or our sliding scale. And if continuing truly isn't possible, we'll help you wrap up therapy in the best way we can.
Is there a catch to $0 therapy?
No catch. For many of our clients, $0 really means $0.
The paperwork to start is the same whether you have therapy fully covered by insurance or you pay out of pocket.
Some insurance plans limit how many sessions you can have. That limit comes from your insurance company, not from us. To find out if your plan has one, call the member services number on your card.
And if paying out of pocket ends up making more sense for you, that has its own benefits. We cover them in Cash vs. Insurance.
Does free therapy mean lower quality care?
If you have Medicaid, Medicare, or NJ FamilyCare, you may have already been through a lot just trying to find help. Turned away. Put on long waitlists. Matched with someone who wasn't right for you.
At Bluebird, $0 to you doesn't mean less care from us.
Every Bluebird therapist is licensed and trained. Our therapists also meet regularly with supervisors and outside professionals, in a fully confidential way, to keep the quality of their work high. And we carefully vet everyone who joins us, so our therapists fit the people and concerns we work with here in New Jersey.
As of writing this article in October 2026, we don't have a long waitlist. We try to see new clients within about seven days.
What if it's not the right fit?
Sometimes a therapist just isn't the right match. That's normal, and it doesn't mean either of you did anything wrong. If it happens, we'll help you find a different Bluebird therapist or refer you to another practice that fits better.
That's also why we often start with a free 15-minute consultation. It gives you a chance to see if Bluebird feels right before you begin.
Why Bluebird takes Medicaid and Medicare
Many therapists in New Jersey don't take Medicaid or Medicare. We do, because our mission is to put quality therapy within reach of everyone, regardless of income.
We won't sugarcoat it. The same systems that make free therapy possible, Medicaid, Medicare, and insurance companies, can also be extremely difficult to work with.
So we handle that side for you. You focus on feeling better. We'll deal with the insurance.
If you don't believe free therapy is possible for you
A lot of people don't believe they could have therapy fully covered by insurance, until they check. But if you have a Medicaid plan, a strong commercial plan, or Medicare with the right secondary insurance, great therapy may cost you nothing at all.
And even if you end up with a $15 to $25 copay, that's about what a streaming subscription costs. For something that can change your whole life, and the lives of the people you love.
The biggest risk is about 10 minutes. Fill out our insurance form and talk to someone from Bluebird Therapy Center. If it's not the right fit, you've spent 10 minutes. If it is, you can change your world and the world of everyone around you.
Start with a free 15-minute consultation call. We'll check your insurance and tell you exactly what you'll pay, even if that's nothing.
