Telehealth Psychiatry That Takes Medicaid: Options by State

• Brightside accepts Medicaid for medication care through named plans in 5 states (North Carolina, Nebraska, Oregon, Vermont, Washington). Klarity takes it through individual providers in many states.
• Talkiatry does not accept Medicaid in any state, and its self-pay option is closed to Medicaid members. For other services, see our roundup of Talkiatry alternatives. Talkspace takes none either. Rula accepts managed Medicaid in a handful of states, for therapy only.
• Every state’s Medicaid program pays for some live-video care.¹ If no online service takes your plan, try a certified community behavioral health clinic.

In telehealth psychiatry, a psychiatrist or psychiatric nurse practitioner evaluates you and prescribes medication over video. Each state runs its own Medicaid program, or hires private insurers to run it on their behalf. These managed-care plans handle care for 78% of Medicaid enrollees.² Online services sign contracts with those plans one at a time. One service can take Medicaid in Oregon but not in Ohio. The plan name printed on your Medicaid card dictates which services you can use.

You can check whether Talkiatry takes your plan if you have Medicare, a dual Medicare and Medicaid plan, or insurance through work.

ChoosingTherapy.com may earn a commission from the companies whose services are linked on this page.

Which online psychiatry services take Medicaid?

Brightside Health and Klarity Health are the online psychiatry services we found that take Medicaid for medication care. Brightside takes it in five states. At Klarity, individual providers choose whether to accept it.

Table data is as of October 2026, from each company’s insurance pages and help center. Brightside’s plan list, Klarity’s Medicaid policy and Grow Therapy’s state count date from September 2026.

Brightside Health accepts named Medicaid plans such as Healthy Blue NC, CareOregon, Vermont’s Green Mountain Care and Community Health Plan of Washington. Brightside told ChoosingTherapy its Medicaid members typically pay $0 or a small copay. Check your plan with Brightside.

Klarity Health is a marketplace of independent providers and bills no insurer itself. Providers there take Medicaid plans in many states. To find them, filter Klarity’s directory by your plan.

Grow Therapy lists Medicaid plans in about 10 states, including 14 Medi-Cal plans in California. The service has prescribers too, but we could not confirm whether they take Medicaid. Ask before booking a medication visit through Grow Therapy. We cover Grow Therapy’s Medicaid plans in Does Grow Therapy accept Medicaid?.

Charlie Health bills Medicaid in states whose Medicaid covers intensive outpatient programs. The program is 9 to 12 hours of virtual care a week. Medication management is included as needed, where available. Read more in Does Charlie Health take Medicaid?

Rula accepts managed Medicaid in a handful of states, for its therapists only. Its psychiatric providers don’t take Medicaid. Does Rula accept Medicaid? covers Rula’s Medicaid policy.

Talkspace is not enrolled with Medicaid anywhere, though it takes Medicare. Our guide Does Talkspace take Medicaid? has the details.

Sesame bills no insurance but lets Medicaid members book as cash patients. Sesame’s mental health medication plan is $79 a month, with no controlled substances.

Talkiatry does not take Medicaid

Talkiatry is an online psychiatry practice with 800+ psychiatrists across 45 states and Washington DC. It does not take Medicaid in any state. Talkiatry confirmed this to ChoosingTherapy in writing in September 2026. Its self-pay option excludes everyone on government insurance, so a Medicaid member can’t book by paying cash. For Medicaid members, Talkiatry suggests the state Medicaid website or a referral from a primary care provider. The full policy is in Does Talkiatry take Medicaid?.

Talkiatry accepts Medicare and job-based coverage: Original Medicare (Part B), select Medicare Advantage plans that vary by state, and commercial plans. Its copay estimator includes two UnitedHealthcare Dual Complete plans. These are Medicare Advantage plans for people with both Medicare and Medicaid. Talkiatry publishes no written dual-eligible policy. With insurance, most patients pay $30 a visit, and the 60-minute first visit costs more. For more on the service itself, see our Talkiatry review.

Check your Medicare or commercial plan with Talkiatry

What Medicaid covers for telehealth psychiatry

Federal rules give states broad freedom over how Medicaid pays for telehealth. A state that pays video visits the same as office visits needs no separate federal approval.³ As of fall 2025, all 50 states and DC paid for some live-video care in fee-for-service Medicaid. Audio-only phone visits were paid for in some form by 46 states and DC.¹

Medicaid pays for more mental health care in the US than any other payer.⁴ Your share of the cost is usually small. States may charge copays, but most are nominal. In a 2022 survey, most states reported no copays for behavioral health.⁵ For anyone under 21, the EPSDT benefit requires states to fully cover services needed to treat a mental health condition. The EPSDT rule holds even where adult coverage is narrower.

Managed care and direct state Medicaid

Your Medicaid is run either by a private plan or by the state. As of July 2025, 42 states including DC are contracted with private managed-care plans. Some of those states put behavioral health into a separate plan.² Most Medicaid plans that online services list are managed-care plans. Rula takes no direct state Medicaid. A managed plan’s card carries the insurer’s logo, a member ID and a member services number. A direct Medicaid card comes from the state and has no plan logo.

Can you get ADHD medication online with Medicaid?

You can get ADHD medication online with Medicaid if one service both takes your plan and treats ADHD in your state. For a stimulant, that service must also prescribe stimulants there. Brightside prescribes certain stimulants to insured adults 18 and up in 11 states. Two of those states, Oregon and Washington, are among its five Medicaid states. Klarity’s providers decide case by case. Talkiatry prescribes stimulants where state law allows it but takes no Medicaid. Sesame prescribes no controlled substances. Medicaid members in patient forums describe trouble finding an online ADHD assessment and prescription that their plan covers.

Online stimulant prescribing is allowed under federal rules for now. DEA-registered clinicians can prescribe Schedule II to V medications over audio-video telehealth without an in-person visit first. Those medications include stimulants. The DEA’s fourth temporary extension allows this through December 31, 2026.⁶ A permanent special registration rule was proposed in January 2025. It had not been published as final by October 18, 2026. State laws can add limits.

This article is for information only and is not medical advice. Talk to a doctor or licensed clinician before starting, stopping, or changing any treatment.

How to check if your Medicaid plan covers an online psychiatrist

Your Medicaid plan sets what’s covered. Its name is on your card.

1. Find the plan name on your Medicaid card. Note whether it shows an insurer’s logo (managed care) or the state’s design (direct Medicaid).
2. Call member services. Ask whether telehealth psychiatry is covered and whether behavioral health runs through a separate plan. Then ask which in-network prescribers offer video visits to new patients.
3. Run your plan through Klarity’s provider filter and Grow Therapy’s cost estimate tool. If you live in one of Brightside’s five states, check your plan with Brightside.
4. Confirm the clinician who accepted your plan is a prescriber. At Rula, and possibly Grow Therapy, Medicaid acceptance can cover therapists only.
5. If you also have Medicare, check your Medicare coverage first, since more online services take Medicare.

Online psychiatry compared with your plan’s directory

The usual Medicaid route is a psychiatrist from your plan’s directory. Getting an appointment that way however, is often slow. A 2024 secret-shopper study tested 320 psychiatric prescriber offices listed in Medicaid managed-care directories. The offices were in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago and Phoenix. Only 18% were reachable, took Medicaid and offered an appointment.⁷ New York City offices had a median wait of 28 days, and Los Angeles offices 64 days. In 2023, an average of 28% of providers listed in Medicaid plan networks saw no enrollees.⁸ Among psychiatrists, 35.7% take new Medicaid patients, compared with 70.8% of all physicians.⁹

Talkiatry says it usually sees patients within days, and Grow Therapy says most clients start within 2 days. Neither figure is specific to Medicaid.

Through your plan’s directory, Medicaid pays for psychiatry and therapy together at little or no cost. Community clinics add case management and in-person visits. You can keep the same local team for years.

What if your Medicaid plan isn’t accepted?

If no online service accepts your Medicaid plan, you can still get covered care from in-network prescribers, community clinics and health centers.

Your plan and your doctor. Ask member services for in-network prescribers taking new patients, or check your state Medicaid website. A primary care provider can refer you to an in-network psychiatrist.

Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs). CCBHCs must serve anyone seeking mental health or substance use care, regardless of ability to pay, residence or age. They take Medicaid and run 24-hour crisis services.¹⁰ In 2025, 539 CCBHCs served an estimated 3.4 million people in 40% of US counties.¹¹ Community mental health centers offer similar bundled care.

Federally qualified health centers. Health centers provide primary care with or without insurance, on a sliding fee scale. In 2025, 1,356 health center awardees served 32.7 million patients.¹² Find one at findahealthcenter.hrsa.gov.

FindTreatment.gov. SAMHSA’s confidential tool searches treatment by location, including state-run programs.

Cash pay. Brightside psychiatry costs $95 a month plus your pharmacy copay. Klarity’s self-pay visits start at $51, and Sesame charges $79 a month. Talkiatry bars Medicaid members from self-pay. Before you book, ask any service whether Medicaid members can pay cash.

If you’re feeling worse or thinking about suicide, call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. For an emergency, call 911.

See whether Talkiatry is in network if your coverage changes to Medicare or a job-based plan.