Emergency Psychiatry Service

Insurance

Boston Children's Hospital is not an authorized psychiatric care site for some insurance companies.

• If your child is not at immediate risk for self-harm or is not a danger to others, please call us before you bring him or her to the ER.
   
• If your child is at immediate risk for self-harm or is a danger to others, call 911 immediately.

Calling ahead

Before bringing your child to the Boston Children's Hospital ER for a mental health crisis, please be sure to check ahead of time to make sure your insurance plan covers a visit.

By calling us at 617-355-6369, and asking for the psychiatric clinician-on-call, you can:

• verify whether your insurance covers psychiatric services at Children's
   
• potentially access crisis evaluation services outside the ER, thereby avoiding a lengthy ER visit

We will never deny a child emergency psychiatry care when they come to Children's. However, once stabilized, children without insurance coverage here will be referred to another hospital or psychiatric treatment facility where he or she will be covered.

You may also determine whether your insurance plan covers a visit to the Emergency Psychiatry Service for your child by calling the phone number on the back of your insurance card.