Medi-Cal Psychotherapy
Shine a Light Counseling Center provides free adult, teen, and child therapy for clients with eligible Medi-Cal plans. Medi-Cal clients do not have a co-payment. This means that people previously without access to mental health counseling can now get it.
We welcome the diversity of people on Medi-Cal, and we understand the challenges of getting good health care when funds are limited. We believe every person deserves good mental health care. It is important, however, to make sure you have the right provider for your medi-cal plan. This page can help you identify if we can bill Medi-Cal for your therapy.
Our Eligible Plans:
Anthem Medi-Cal Plans
(San Francisco, Sacramento, Santa Clara, Fresno and other counties)
CCAH
(Santa Cruz, Monterey, San Benito, Merced & Mariposa Counties)
San Francisco Health Plan
(San Francisco)
LA Care Health Plan
(Los Angeles)
Gold Coast Health Plan
(Ventura County)
Partnership Health Plan
(See Map to the right)
What is your Subscriber Number?
Your subscriber number should be on your insurance card. You will need your number to complete the Request for an Appointment form. The number should have:
CCAH: Eight numerals and a letter (and possibly more numerals)
Partnership: Eight numerals, a letter, and one extra numeral
SF Health Plan: Eleven numerals
LA Care: Eight numerals and a letter (and possibly more numerals)
Gold Coast: ?
Anthem: If your subscriber number start with 3 letters, it may be an Anthem or Blue Shield plan. We can bill Anthem, but not Blue Shield.
If you need help enrolling in Medi-Cal please visit the Covered California webpage. If you are eligible for Medi-Cal, please enroll. Once you are enrolled, contact us for a psychotherapy appointment at our Santa Cruz, Watsonville, Monterey or San Francisco offices (or via telehealth). If you are already covered by Anthem or Carelon, in the Medi-Cal regions listed above (or on the map below), please use the request for services form at the bottom of this page to schedule a counseling appointment.
What Medi-Cal Plan do you have?
Knowing what therapists can bill your medi-cal plan can be very confusing. Here is a guide to determine if a Shine a Light therapist can bill medi-cal for your therapy:
No Kaiser, or Blue Shield Plans
If your insurance card has Kaiser or Blue Shield logos on it, we can’t help you. Please contact these insurance providers directly to find an in-network provider.
Only the Regions on the Map Above
If you live in a browned out county on the map above, we can only help you if you have an Anthem Medi-Cal plan.
Only Anthem and Carelon Behavioral Health
We can bill medi-cal for you if you have a plan in the regions on the map above. But your behavioral health benefits must be adminsitered by Anthem or Carelon (formerly Beacon).
Medicare
We do not have any Medicare providers at Shine a Light Counseling Center. Please let us know if you have a Medicare plan, because Medi-Cal will not cover your costs if you also have Medicare coverage.
Request an Appointment
To Request an Appointment at Shine a Light or NPCC, please fill out this form. Please note *We respond to inquiries Monday through Friday 8AM to 8PM. All inquiries we receive on the weekends or holidays will be processed the next business day. Thank you for your patience.
Agency Inquiries
New Office in San Francisco!
Shine a Light Counseling Center is please to merge with New Perspectives Center for Counseling. NPCC has been serving the San Francisco community for thirty years. Now NPCC is transitioning to become the San Francisco site for Shine a Light. NPCC will retain its name, character and history. For information about NPCC or counseling in San Francisco:
New Perspectives Center for Counseling
Emergency Contact
Shine a Light does not provide crisis services. If you have a mental health emergency, call 988 or 911. Or click here for more Crisis Resources
Telephone Contact
You can call Shine a Light at 831-996-1222, but we encourage you to use the email forms to the left. If you call, please leave the following:
- Phone number
- Preferred location
- Best times to meet
- Issue you want help with
- What insurance you have (if any)
FAX us at: 831-417-0443
Good Faith Estimate
You have the right to receive a “Good Faith Estimate” explaining how much your medical care will cost. Your fee will be set according to a sliding scale, in collaboration with your therapist, prior to your first counseling session. Total costs depend upon the number of sessions you choose to utilize.
If you have private health insurance, please be aware that your costs for therapy may be less by using an in-network provider for your insurance company. This will depend upon your plan's deductible amounts and co-payments. In some cases, counseling at Shine a Light is less costly than using private insurance.
If you hope to use "out of network" benefits through your private insurance, please be aware that many plans will not reimburse for services provided by pre-licensed therapists (most of our staff).
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