Therapy with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama: what to check before you book

Does Blue Cross of Alabama cover therapy?

Yes, most Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama plans cover outpatient therapy for a diagnosed mental health condition. Marketplace plans have to cover mental and behavioral health care as an essential health benefit. Most employer plans cover it too.

What changes from plan to plan is your cost and which therapists are in your network.

How Blue Cross of Alabama’s mental health network works

Blue Cross of Alabama uses its own behavioral health network for many plans. For some plans this is called the Blue Choice Behavioral Health network. For years, the plan has worked with a behavioral health management company that was known as New Directions Behavioral Health. New Directions changed its name to Lucet in January 2023.

Here’s what that means for you:

• You use your Blue Cross card. The member services number on it is still the right place to start.
• You may see the Lucet or New Directions name on letters or when a practice checks your benefits.
• A therapist has to be in the behavioral health network for your plan to pay in-network rates. Being a Blue Cross provider for medical care doesn’t always mean a therapist is in the behavioral health network.

Do you need a referral or approval?

Usually no referral is needed for outpatient therapy. A Blue Choice Behavioral Health network guide says referrals aren’t necessary, but approval is required for:

• inpatient care
• residential treatment
• intensive outpatient treatment

Regular weekly therapy visits aren’t on that list. Your employer’s plan can add its own rules, so ask member services if you’re not sure.

Where to find your benefits

Your Summary of Benefits and Coverage is at AlabamaBlue.com after you sign in, or on your employer’s benefits site. PEEHIP members also have a yearly benefit matrix at rsa-al.gov. Our insurance guide shows which line covers therapy and what the cost terms mean.

What therapy costs: Blue Cross of Alabama individual plans for 2027

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama’s 2027 individual plan summaries show these outpatient mental health costs:

On every one, the therapy copay doesn’t wait for the deductible. Precertification is required for intensive outpatient, partial hospitalization and inpatient care, and without it, no benefits are paid.

Referrals: the EPO and the two Select plans need a primary care referral for many specialists in Alabama, but the summaries make an exception for behavioral health providers. Blue Saver Bronze needs no referrals at all. The Blue Saver Silver EPO also requires a primary care doctor in Blue Cross’s High Performance Network, BlueHPN.

These summaries don’t include a telehealth line, so ask member services what a telehealth session costs on your plan.

Ask about visit limits

The current PEEHIP matrix lists no yearly limit on outpatient mental health visits. Other Alabama plans, especially older employer plans, have had limits. Parity law caps how strict one can be, but ask member services whether your plan has one.

What therapy costs: public school employees (PEEHIP)

Alabama’s Public Education Employees’ Health Insurance Plan, or PEEHIP, offers a Hospital Medical plan administered by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama. Its benefit matrix for October 1, 2025, to September 30, 2026, sets these costs:

More from the matrix:

• In-network therapists are those in Blue Cross’s BlueCard PPO or Blue Choice Behavioral Health networks, listed at AlabamaBlue.com.
• No yearly limit on outpatient mental health visits appears in the 2025 to 2026 matrix.
• The calendar-year deductible is $300 per person and $900 per family. It doesn’t apply to the $15 in-network therapy copay.
• Telehealth with your own providers costs the same as in person.
• Residential treatment needs precertification through case management.
• For 2027, PEEHIP’s July 2026 newsletter says in-network out-of-pocket maximums will rise to $12,000 per person and $24,000 per family. It lists no copay changes.

If you use an out-of-network therapist, you may need to file your own claims and pay the difference between their fee and the allowed amount.

Telehealth with Blue Cross of Alabama

Blue Cross of Alabama covers telehealth visits with contracted behavioral health providers. Since August 1, 2020, your usual cost share applies to telehealth visits for conditions other than COVID-19, according to the plan’s letter to providers.

If you want telehealth with a particular therapist:

• ask whether the therapist is in the behavioral health network
• ask member services whether telehealth visits cost the same as office visits under your plan
• make sure the therapist is licensed in the state where you’ll be during the session

That last point matters if you live near the state line, like in Phenix City across from Columbus, Georgia, or in north Alabama near Tennessee.

If your therapist isn’t in network

Blue Cross of Alabama’s 2027 PPO plans pay 50% out of network for therapy, and its EPO pays nothing out of network. PEEHIP pays 80% of the allowed amount out of network after the deductible. If you do have out-of-network benefits, our insurance guide explains superbills.

Blue Cross cards from other states

If your card is from another state’s Blue plan and you live in Alabama, the rules come from your own plan. Many Blue plans let you see in-network providers in other states. Call the number on your card to check which network applies to you in Alabama.

How to find a therapist in your network

1. Use Blue Cross’s Doctor Finder. Sign in at AlabamaBlue.com and choose the behavioral health provider option. Make sure your plan is selected, because networks differ between plans.
2. Then search LunahUP by city. No Alabama profile lists Blue Cross of Alabama yet, so search your city, filter by what matters to you, and ask each practice whether it’s in the behavioral health network for your plan.
3. Confirm with the practice. Ask whether the therapist you want is in the behavioral health network for your exact plan and is taking new clients.

Questions to ask member services

Along with the standard questions, ask Blue Cross of Alabama:

• “Is [therapist’s name] in the behavioral health network for my plan, not only the medical network?”
• “Is there a yearly limit on outpatient mental health visits, and how many have I used?”
• “Does Lucet manage my behavioral health benefits?”

The short version

• Most Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama plans cover outpatient therapy for a diagnosed condition.
• Therapists need to be in the plan’s behavioral health network, which can be different from the medical network.
• Outpatient therapy usually needs no referral. Inpatient, residential and intensive outpatient care need approval.
• Ask about yearly visit limits.
• PEEHIP members use the Blue Choice Behavioral Health network. Check the current benefit matrix.
• Telehealth with contracted providers is covered, with your usual cost share.