Therapy with Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Kentucky and Georgia

Does Anthem cover therapy?

Yes, most Anthem plans in Kentucky and Georgia cover outpatient therapy for a diagnosed mental health condition. Plans sold through the Marketplace have to cover mental and behavioral health care, because it’s one of the essential health benefits under the Affordable Care Act. Most employer plans cover it too.

What varies from plan to plan is how much you pay and which therapists count as in network.

Who handles your mental health benefits

For many Anthem plans, mental health benefits are managed by Carelon Behavioral Health, a company that works on Anthem’s behalf. You may see the Carelon name on letters, on your plan documents, or when a therapist’s office checks your benefits. That’s normal. You still use your Anthem card, and the member services number on that card is still the right place to start.

Carelon describes itself as an independent company that manages behavioral health services for the health plan. In practice, that means Carelon may be the one that reviews higher levels of care, such as a stay in a residential program.

Where to find your benefits

Your Summary of Benefits and Coverage is in the Sydney Health app, at anthem.com or on your employer’s benefits site. Anthem’s member materials say you can also chat with Anthem in the app for help finding a mental health professional. Our insurance guide shows which line covers therapy and what the cost terms mean.

Do you need approval before therapy?

Usually not for routine outpatient therapy. In a notice to providers, Anthem said it no longer manages traditional outpatient therapy visits for its fully insured plans, including Marketplace plans. The same notice said many employer plans that pay their own claims had dropped those reviews too, but some still review visits after a set number.

The plan documents below agree. Georgia’s state plan puts its “prior approval required” note only on inpatient and residential mental health care, and Anthem’s 2026 Kentucky and Georgia Marketplace summaries list no approval limits on their mental health rows.

Telehealth with Anthem

You have two telehealth routes with most Anthem plans.

Your own therapist’s telehealth. Many in-network therapists see clients by telehealth. Ask the practice and your plan whether those visits cost the same as office visits.

LiveHealth Online Psychology. Anthem’s own telehealth service connects members with licensed therapists and psychologists. Anthem’s member materials say:

• you choose the therapist you’d like to see
• in most cases you can get a first visit within four days
• the service runs from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.
• the therapists and psychologists there don’t prescribe medication
• the cost is often similar to an office visit under your plan, depending on your benefits

You can book through livehealthonline.com or the Sydney Health app. Hours and details can change, and not every employer plan includes it, so check your plan before you count on it.

Whichever route you use, the therapist has to be licensed in the state where you are during the session. That matters if you live near the state line, like in northern Kentucky near Cincinnati or in Georgia near Chattanooga.

What therapy costs: Anthem Marketplace plans (2026)

Anthem’s 2026 individual plan summaries show a clear difference between its Kentucky and Georgia plans. Anthem’s 2027 summaries weren’t posted yet.

Kentucky. Most plans charge a flat therapy copay that skips the deductible:

Georgia. The plans reviewed apply the deductible to therapy first:

All eight are HMO plans that don’t cover out-of-network care, and each notes that virtual visits are available. If you’re comparing Anthem plans for 2027, check whether the therapy line says “deductible does not apply.”

What therapy costs: Kentucky state employees (KEHP)

The Kentucky Employees’ Health Plan pays its own claims, and Anthem is its third-party administrator. Its 2027 Benefits Selection Guide and plan summaries set these in-network costs for behavioral health care:

Two things stand out:

• On the PPO, therapy isn’t a copay. The PPO’s $30 primary care and $55 specialist copays are for doctor’s office visits. The behavioral health row is the deductible, then 25%.
• LiveHealth Online visits are $0 on every KEHP plan. KEHP’s guide says you can have a telehealth visit with a board-certified doctor, a psychiatrist or a therapist. For weekly therapy, that can cost far less than an office visit while you’re still under the deductible.

The Kentucky Employee Assistance Program (KEAP) is free for state employees and their dependents but doesn’t pay for counseling; our EAP guide explains how it works. Pharmacy benefits run through CVS Caremark.

What therapy costs: Georgia state employees and teachers (SHBP)

Georgia’s State Health Benefit Plan offers a statewide HMO from Anthem or UnitedHealthcare, a UnitedHealthcare high-deductible plan and a Kaiser Permanente regional HMO. The Anthem and UnitedHealthcare HMOs share one set of benefits. From the plan’s 2026 comparison summary and 2027 decision guide:

What that means for therapy:

• On the HMOs, the $35 copay doesn’t wait for the deductible. Intensive outpatient and partial hospitalization are covered in full in network.
• The HMOs cover in-network care only. If your therapist isn’t in Anthem’s network, the HMO won’t pay.
• The telemedicine copay dropped from $35 or $45 in 2026 to $15 in 2027.
• Kaiser doesn’t need a referral for behavioral health, according to the 2027 guide.

The UnitedHealthcare high-deductible plan has its own rules, covered in our UnitedHealthcare guide.

If your therapist isn’t in network

Anthem PPO plans usually include some out-of-network benefits, and Anthem HMO plans, including the Georgia state plan HMO, usually don’t. Our insurance guide explains how to claim with a superbill if you have them.

Anthem EAP

Many Anthem employer plans include an Anthem employee assistance program with a few free counseling sessions. Ask HR, and see our EAP guide for how EAPs work.

How to find a therapist in Anthem’s network

1. Use Anthem’s Find Care. Sign in at anthem.com or in the Sydney Health app and search for behavioral health providers. Make sure your plan is selected, because the network depends on the plan.
2. Then search LunahUP by city. No Kentucky or Georgia profile lists Anthem yet, so search where you live, filter by therapy type, telehealth or language, and ask each practice whether it takes your Anthem plan.
3. Confirm with the practice. Ask whether the therapist you want is in network for your exact plan and is taking new clients. A practice can take Anthem for one plan and not another.

Questions to ask Anthem member services

Along with the standard questions, ask Anthem:

• “Does Carelon manage my behavioral health benefits?”
• “Do you review therapy visits after a certain number?”
• “Is LiveHealth Online Psychology part of my plan, and what does a visit cost?”
• “Does my employer offer an Anthem EAP?”

The short version

• Most Anthem plans in Kentucky and Georgia cover outpatient therapy for a diagnosed condition.
• Carelon Behavioral Health manages mental health benefits for many Anthem plans.
• Routine therapy usually doesn’t need approval, but some employer plans review visits after a set number.
• LiveHealth Online Psychology offers telehealth therapy for many members.
• Kentucky state employees use Anthem as their plan administrator. Georgia state employees can choose an Anthem HMO.