Using your Anthem plan for virtual outpatient treatment.

Anthem Blue Cross, Elevance, Empire BCBS, and the BCBS state plans that route behavioral health through Anthem are some of the most common cards we see. Your plan is unique. We verify yours specifically before you commit to anything.

Where we stand

The honest version.

Shift Support Network is out-of-network with Anthem and Elevance right now, with in-network credentialing in process. Many Anthem plans include an out-of-network behavioral health benefit for the situations where in-network options do not fit a member's life. We tell you what your plan covers, in plain English, before you commit to care.

How out-of-network behavioral usually works

A short overview, no fine print.

Plans vary widely, so the numbers below are intentionally not on this page. Yours are unique, and we pull them with you on the phone or in a two-minute form.

The pieces of the plan

An allowed amount for each kind of visit or day of care.
A deductible you meet before the plan starts splitting the cost.
A coinsurance split after the deductible.
An out-of-pocket maximum for the year, after which the plan covers more or all.
An authorization step for intensive outpatient and PHP-intensity hour expansion, which we handle.

What we do for you on the benefits side

Call Anthem on the back of your card and pull the actual out-of-network behavioral numbers for the level of care you need.
Translate them into the dollar cost of a week of treatment, so there are no surprises.
Submit the authorization and stay on the case through review and renewal.
Bill what the plan considers reasonable, so there is no balance-bill surprise later.

If your plan has an Employee or Member Assistance Program

The EAP is a fine first call.

Many Anthem-administered plans, especially union trust funds and self-funded employer plans, also include an Employee or Member Assistance Program. Those programs offer a short, confidential counseling benefit and a warm referral into the medical plan's behavioral benefit. If you have one and want to start there, we coordinate with them directly.

If you have an EAP number

Use it as your first call

Tell the EAP counselor you are considering virtual intensive outpatient or partial hospitalization-intensity care. Then send us the referral and we take it from there.

Start the benefit check Going straight to the plan

We open the case ourselves

Send us the member ID and group number on the front of your card and we will pull your benefits, request authorization, and confirm what the program will cost you before your first session.

Start the benefit check

Verify your benefits in two minutes.

Send us the member ID and group number on the front of your card. We come back with your specific out-of-network deductible, coinsurance, out-of-pocket maximum, and what a typical week of intensive outpatient or partial hospitalization-intensity care would cost you. No commitment until you decide.

Check your benefits Or call (805) 815-6777

If you or someone you are with is in immediate danger, call or text 988 (the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) or call 911. Shift Support Network is an outpatient program and is not an emergency service.