Twenty Minutes of Music Helps Burned-Out Healthcare Workers. Medicare’s Depression Screen Is $0, but Treatment Usually Costs 20%

A Northwestern study found that 20 minutes of calming music helped healthcare workers recharge and recover from stress. That matters in a profession where about half of healthcare workers report burnout. The study puts mental health in the spotlight, and anyone on Medicare should ask two questions: what does a depression screening cost, and what does follow-up care cost if that screening raises a concern?

The screening can cost nothing. Follow-up care usually brings the Part B deductible and 20% coinsurance. If you have a Medigap supplement that covers Part B coinsurance, the second step will cost you little. If you have Original Medicare with no supplement, you have no annual out-of-pocket cap, and the math below lands on your bill.

Medicare Pays the Full Bill for One Question a Year

Part B covers one depression screening per year, and you pay nothing if your provider accepts assignment. Assignment means the provider takes Medicare’s approved amount as full payment. Medicare also requires the screening to happen in a primary care setting (like a doctor’s office) where you can get follow-up treatment and/or referrals to a mental health provider.

The yearly Wellness visit, which includes a talk about changes in your mental health, also costs nothing if your provider accepts assignment, and the Part B deductible does not apply. Medicare also warns that you may have to pay coinsurance, and the Part B deductible may apply if your provider performs additional tests or services during the same visit. So if a visit turns into a longer talk about symptoms, the same appointment can create a second charge that you pay part of.

Diagnosis and Therapy Bring Back the 20%

Once screening becomes diagnosis, psychotherapy, a psychiatric evaluation or medication management, the regular Part B cost rules return. You pay the deductible first: $283 in 2026, an increase of $26 from the annual deductible of $257 in 2025. After that, visits to diagnose or treat depression generally carry 20% coinsurance of the Medicare-approved amount.

Here is an example, using a made-up approved amount of $150 per therapy session. Real rates vary by provider, region and session length. Twenty weekly sessions add up to $3,000 in approved charges. You pay the first $283, then 20% of the rest. Each session after the deductible costs you $30.

The $826.40 is added to the Part B premium, which rose to $202.90 for 2026, an increase of $17.90 from $185.00 in 2025. With Medigap Plan G, which covers Part B coinsurance after the deductible, the same 20 sessions would cost you only the $283 deductible.

Billing Traps That Push the Price Higher

• Providers who opt out. Some psychiatrists and therapists opt out of Medicare completely. You then sign a private contract, Medicare pays nothing and you owe the provider’s full fee.
• Providers who don’t accept assignment. A provider who takes Medicare but not assignment can bill above the approved amount, and the $0 screening promise only applies when the provider accepts assignment.
• Medicare Advantage rules. Advantage plans set their own copays for therapy and may limit you to in-network providers or require referrals. Your plan’s Evidence of Coverage spells out the actual charge per visit.

What to Do Before Your Next Appointment

1. Book the screening in the right place. Schedule the annual depression screening with your primary care doctor. When you book, check the office accepts assignment and ask for the visit to be billed as the preventive screening.
2. Get the price before the first therapy session. If your doctor recommends follow-up care, ask the therapist or psychiatrist three things: Do you accept assignment? Have you opted out of Medicare? What is the Medicare-approved amount per session? Multiply that amount by 20%, then by the number of sessions planned, to figure what you’ll owe after the deductible.
3. Compare behavioral-health copays during open enrollment. The annual enrollment period runs October 15 through December 7. If you’re in an Advantage plan or thinking about joining one, compare plans on outpatient mental health copays and whether your therapist is in the network, along with premiums.

Medicare can make the first question free. The care that comes after may still have a price. Learning that price before the first therapy session keeps a health decision from becoming a surprise on your budget.

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