We have found
that about sixty percent of insurance companies that cover psychiatric
services reimburse our customers for the purchase of an Apollo
light box (Non-UV Phototherapy Boxes).
Some insurance
companies are unfamiliar with the diagnosis of Seasonal Affective
Disorder and light therapy. For non-UV light therapy to be considered
for coverage by your insurance company it is important that you
provide them with the following:
1) a prescription,
2) a letter from
your physician explaining the diagnosis of SAD
and its treatment throught lignt therapy,
3) copies of
published research supporting the therapy.
Link to Some
Published Research
Below is an example
of a letter that might be sent.
To whom it may
concern,
This is to certify
that_________________________________________________has been
a patient of mine since________, 20______. I have treated him/her
for recurrent major depressions (DSM-IV 296.3), with a seasonal
pattern. This condition, also known as Seasonal Affective Disorder
(SAD), has heen shown in many studies in the United States and
elsewhere in the world to respond to treatment with bright environmental
light (light therapy). Light therapy is no longer considered
experimental, but is a mainstream type of psychiatric treatment,
described in the Task Force Report of the American Psychiatric
Association: Treatment of Psychiatric Disdorders, Vol. 3,
pages 1890-1896, APA Press, 1989. Inorder to administer light
therapy adequately, a quality light box such as the Apollo Brite
Lite IV, is required. (see attached invoice).
Although a light
box is an expensive piece of equipment, the experience of clinicians
who have used it for many patients indicates that it saves a
great deal of money in the long run, by reducing the number of
doctors' visits and laboratory investigations of persistent symptoms,
as well as the indirect costs of lost productivity. I contend
in ______________________________'s case the use of the Brite
Lite IV should be regarded not only as a medical necessity, to
be used in preference to (or in addition to) other forms of treatment,
but also as a means of reducing his/her overall medical costs.