Ambien
Ambien gets handed out like Tic Tacs. Primary care hands it out, urgent care hands it out, the dentist hands it out before a crown.
ERISA vs State-Regulated Plans (Why It Matters When You Appeal)
If you have ever fought a health insurance denial for a psychiatric medication, an inpatient stay, or a residential program, you've probably noticed…
Ritalin and Methylphenidate
Methylphenidate has been around since 1944 and is still, in 2026, one of the most reliable molecules in psychiatry. Ritalin is the original brand.
Beating Prior Authorization Denials in Psych (The Clinician’s Survival Guide)
Why prior auth exists, and why your psych patients get hit twice as hard Prior authorization (PA) is the process where, before an insurance company will…
Medicare for Patients Under 65 (SSDI Disability + Mental Health Coverage)
Medicare isn’t just a senior thing, and that surprises a lot of guys Most people grow up thinking Medicare is the program your grandfather is on. You hit 65, you sign up, you complain about the paperwork, that’s the whole…
Call It What It’s: The Naming Method Explained
This is the core of how I work with people, so it's worth getting on the page in plain English. The Naming Method comes down to one principle.
HDHPs, HSAs, and Mental Health Coverage
What an HDHP actually is, in plain English Every fall during open enrollment your HR portal lights up with a plan called something like "Choice HSA 3000"…
Getting On Insurance Panels: The Credentialing Game
If you’re a licensed clinician and you’ve been circling the question of whether to get on insurance panels, you’ve probably gotten a lot of advice that’s either cheerleading (“expand access, you’ll be busy in a week”) or doom (“they’ll bury…
Propranolol
Propranolol is a cardiology drug that wandered into psychiatry by accident and stayed because it does one specific thing well.
Medicaid for Mental Health Care in Oregon and Washington
If you’re an adult in Oregon or Washington and you’re scraping by, there’s a real chance Medicaid covers you, and a real chance it covers more of your mental health care than you assume. There’s also a real chance that…
How to Actually Appeal an Insurance Denial
Insurance denied your mental health claim.
Why You and Your Partner Feel Out of Sync
There’s a part of relationships that nobody really prepares you for, and it’s not the big stuff. It’s not conflict, or trust, or anything dramatic.