Mental Health Moment: Young Adults

This Mental Health Moment is for those who may have just sent their Young Adult (kid/baby) to college. I know it is hard, but because they are over the age of 18 they have to make all their appointments and you cannot know about their care. I know they are on your insurance, but because of Confidentiality and FERPA they have to schedule all appointments for themselves.

Make sure your Young Adult has a copy of the insurance card and they know how to read it. Make sure you know your out-of-state coverage. Most people know this information for Medical Insurance - please do not forget to look at your Mental Health/behavioral health insurance coverage for your young adult.

TRANSCRIPT

Hi, Chante Meadows here with your quick mental health moment.

I just wanted to remind you, if a person is over the age of 18, you cannot call and schedule the appointment for them. So what does that mean? I need Mom, Dad, guardian to help their child who is 18 and older, know how to navigate their insurance, have that conversation with them on knowing what the insurance card is. If you've just sent one of your kids off to college, I know that they're your baby, but they have to now officially make all of their appointments on their own.

So what you can do to help them is make sure that they understand their insurance. If they're out of state, make sure they understand their coverage. Talk to them about copays and deductibles. Teach them where they can go to access care. But most importantly, they have to be able to make the appointment themselves, which with mental health, I know can be very hard.

But because of our FERPA, HIPAA confidentiality, all the things, they have to do it for themselves. So this is just a reminder for those that are over the age of 18. You have to schedule the appointment for themselves and for all the parents and guardians, I know you love them, but they have to do it themselves. Once again, this is Chante Meadows, owner and founder of Meadows Counseling Group.