How My Mental Health Journey Led Me To Thrizer

As I entered a Carbon Health clinic in San Francisco, I became very aware of my privilege.

I had started getting early signs of an ear infection the night before, and I was able to immediately get an appointment for the next morning. It was that easy.

On the flip side, I vividly remember seeing a homeless man just a few feet away from the Carbon Health, battered and passed out. I had an incredible urge to drag him into the clinic. But there was nothing I could do.

Moments like this have reinforced how unfair the healthcare system could be.

Privilege in the healthcare context is often synonymous with having insurance. Those who have access to health systems and insurance get the care they need, others don’t.

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Yet, having insurance is not enough either.

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At the time of this incident, I was working at ZS, a healthcare consulting firm, with Genentech as my client.

While working on the pricing strategy for their oncology treatments, I became privy to exactly how much these drugs cost even after provider and payer discounts.

It was absurd how expensive these treatments were. Insurance barely made a dent for patients, often forcing them to spend their life savings on treatment.

Coming out of my experience at ZS, I learned three important things:

1. Healthcare favors those with good insurance
2. Acute care is incredibly expensive even for those with insurance
3. Given this, shouldn’t we as an industry be focusing on preventative and mental health care to keep people out of the hospital, especially for lifestyle-based conditions?
   

‍I was three years out of college in the "real world" at this point, and coincidentally, my own health started deteriorating.

My mental health had reached an all-time low. I thought it was burnout, but it seemed like much more.

I started losing all of my motivation, not just for work but for everything. 3pm looked no different from 3am - both were spent in bed. I had no idea what was happening.

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I went to therapy for the first time.

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It wasn’t until I took 6 months off of work, went to weekly therapy, and started medication that I realized whatever was happening was far beyond burnout.

I was diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and slowly began to unpack years of unresolved baggage.

I became more aware of my perfectionist and people pleasing tendencies that, unbeknownst to me, made their way into all aspects of my life and made it much more difficult to live a fulfilling life.

I’m still on this journey today, excited to unpack more and more with my therapist. I have seen firsthand how powerful therapy can be. I am incredibly grateful for her support, guidance, presence, warmth, and kindness.

I can confidently say I would not be who I am today without therapy.

I was excited to share all the great ways that therapy was helping me with my loved ones. Coming from a South Asian family, it took them a while to come around to it. Therapy is still seen as something that only those with “issues” seek out.

However, I have appreciated the conversations I’ve had with my parents, educating them that therapy isn’t a bandaid fix for an "issue." It is a promise to yourself to live your best life and not let anything, especially yourself, get in the way of that.

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Affording therapy soon became a struggle.

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While therapy is one of the biggest gifts I have given myself, I have to admit it hasn’t always been easy affording it.

Like many others, I ended up finding my fit with an out-of-network therapist. For the first year I went to therapy, I had no idea what out-of-network benefits were.

The second year, I heard of "superbills" though I had no idea what that meant. I attempted to submit one and never heard back, so I gave up and stopped.

Eventually, I had to stop therapy because I couldn't afford it anymore.

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Finally, I came across Thrizer as a client.

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I spoke to Raunak as a friend, and he nonchalantly reassured me that Thrizer could get me money back on my past sessions.

I was baffled at his confidence - ultimately we were talking about insurance here, the industry notoriously known to screw people over. How could he be so sure?!

I still remember the day I got back ~$800 for my past therapy sessions.

I was ECSTATIC! I couldn’t fathom how Thrizer had done what I had failed to do as a client. Why hadn’t more people heard of this?

I spent the next few months picking Raunak’s brain on all things insurance, out-of-network benefits, reimbursements. I remember thinking I had finally met another healthcare nerd who was looking to innovate within the archaic and clunky system we were forced to be in.

The final selling point for me was Thrizer Pay. Through my years within the healthcare industry, I had been convinced that insurance is never enough. Reimbursements weeks later are not enough.

I appreciated that this company was helping people access and afford a service upfront, not making them jump through countless hoops and hurdles to receive financial relief.

I knew I had to be a part of this mission. That's how Raunak brought me on as his co-founder.

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That’s how my journey led me to Thrizer.

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I finally feel in alignment. Mental health is near and dear to me, and to make that my full-time job is a dream come true.

I am still a proud client of Thrizer. Now, I am even more excited to bring the power of Thrizer to more people who may be struggling to pay for therapy.

That too in a way that doesn’t negatively impact therapists. Because here's an undeniable fact: We need take care of them first if we want any chance at building a strong mental health system.

Regardless of how helpful Thrizer can be, I am aware that it again favors those with good insurance. Those without out-of-network benefits or with high deductibles cannot benefit from Thrizer, and that breaks my heart.

I wish I could wave a magic wand and subsidize therapy for everyone who wants it, completely for free, no strings attached.

We have a long way to go within the therapy industry to find something that sustainably works for all parties involved. But, I do think this is a good start.

Till now, therapy was easily accessible to those who saw an in-network provider or had the means to afford a therapist's private pay rate. We are expanding that to those who have out-of-network benefits, benefiting both clients and therapists.

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What’s next then?

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How can we help more people access therapy? I know we at Thrizer won’t stop till we build that magic wand ourselves.

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This blog post is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended as legal, business, medical, or insurance advice. Laws relating to health insurance and coverage are complex, and their application can vary widely depending on individual circumstances and state laws. Similarly, decisions regarding mental health care should be made with the guidance of qualified health care providers. We strongly recommend consulting with a qualified attorney or legal advisor, insurance representative, and/or medical professional to discuss your specific situation and how the laws apply to you or your situation.