Self-pay psychiatric care
Seeing a psychiatric provider in Florida without insurance.
Every fee published in full, no referral required, and nothing routed through an insurer. Here is exactly what it costs and what you get for it.
The full fee table
Most practices make you call to find out what an appointment costs. Here is the whole thing.
Initial psychiatric evaluation — $200. A full 60 minutes. This is the long appointment where the history gets taken properly.
Follow-up appointment — $100. Shorter, and used for reviewing how treatment is going, adjusting medication, and continuing care.
Missed appointment — $75. Charged when an appointment is not attended and not cancelled.
Late cancellation — $75. Charged for cancellations made too close to the appointment for the time to be offered to someone else.
There is no separate charge for the rating scales used during an evaluation, no registration fee, and no charge for sending a prescription to your pharmacy. Full detail sits on the rates and insurance page.
No referral, and no insurer involved
Florida does not require a referral to see a psychiatric provider. You can book directly.
Paying privately also means nothing about the appointment is submitted to an insurance company. No claim is filed, no diagnosis code is sent to a payer, and no prior authorisation is requested for treatment. For some people that is the main reason they choose self-pay rather than the cost.
It also removes a category of delay. There is no waiting on benefit verification or authorisation before the first appointment can be booked.
When self-pay is actually cheaper
This is worth working out before assuming insurance is the better route.
If you have a high-deductible plan and have not met the deductible, you are usually paying the full contracted rate for each visit anyway — often close to, and sometimes more than, the published self-pay fee. In that situation self-pay can cost the same or less, with less administration.
The arithmetic changes if you have already met your deductible, or if your plan has a flat behavioural health copay lower than $100. Then using insurance is normally cheaper.
A rough way to work it out: check whether your plan has a separate behavioural health deductible, what the copay is once it is met, and how much of it you have used this year. Oscar, Cigna and Aetna are accepted, so both routes are available.
What $200 actually buys
The initial evaluation is 60 minutes with a board-certified psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner. That is the appointment where symptoms, medical history, previous treatments, current medications and your own goals get discussed properly.
By the end you should have an explanation of what the assessment found and a plan for what happens next — which may involve medication, may involve therapy, and may involve neither.
Care covers psychiatric evaluations, medication management, psychotherapy, and treatment for anxiety, depression, ADHD, PTSD and sleep difficulties. Inpatient care, intensive outpatient programmes and substance use treatment are not offered, and you will be told directly if that is what your situation needs.
Access, honestly
Cost is not the only barrier to psychiatric care in Florida. A 2022 study of psychiatric outpatient availability found only 18.5% of psychiatrists were accepting new patients, with a median wait of 67 days in person against 43 days by telepsychiatry. HRSA designates 219 Mental Health Professional Shortage Areas in Florida, where roughly a quarter of assessed need is met.
Self-pay does not fix a workforce shortage, but it does remove the insurer-side steps that sit between deciding to get help and being seen.
Common questions
What you may be wondering.
How much does a psychiatrist cost in Florida without insurance? Rates vary widely across the state. At Horizon the published self-pay fees are $200 for the 60-minute initial evaluation and $100 for each follow-up, with $75 charged for a missed appointment or late cancellation. There are no additional consultation or registration fees.
Do you need a referral to see a psychiatrist in Florida? No. Florida does not require one and Horizon does not ask for one, whether you are paying privately or using insurance. Some insurance plans impose their own referral rules, so check your plan if you intend to use benefits.
Is it cheaper to pay cash than use insurance? Sometimes. If you have not met a high deductible, self-pay is often the same or less than the contracted rate you would pay anyway. If you have met your deductible, or your plan has a behavioural health copay below $100, insurance is usually cheaper. It is worth checking your specific plan.
Can I start self-pay and switch to insurance later? Yes. Nothing about paying for the first appointment privately prevents later visits being billed to an accepted plan, as long as your coverage is active and the plan's requirements are met.
In an emergency
Call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room. You can also call or text 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Horizon Telepsychiatry is not an emergency service.
Horizon Telepsychiatry