Insurance · Kaiser

Kaiser mental healthcoverage and referrals.

Kaiser members usually need a Kaiser referral or authorization first. We check your plan and write back in one business day.

Located in Laguna Beach, California

(949) 670-9345
Talk to admissionsVerify insurance
  • First stepKaiser referral
  • The checkOne business day
  • What we needMember ID + DOB

The quick answer

Kaiser mental health coverage usually needs a referral

Kaiser members usually need a Kaiser referral or authorization before care outside Kaiser's own facilities, and Exist is not a Kaiser facility. We check Kaiser mental health coverage for PHP, IOP, and outpatient care in Laguna Beach. Send a member ID and date of birth, and we write back within one business day. Benefits vary by plan, so what we send back is about your plan only.

If you already have a Kaiser referral or authorization, tell us when you call.

Call (949) 670-9345
A person walking a sandy canyon path between tall dry grasses toward the sea at dusk, back to camera, a sandstone wall in shadow and a pale sun ahead.

How verification works

What a Kaiser check looks like

A Kaiser check has one extra question, which is whether your plan needs a referral or authorization for care at Exist. We ask it along with the rest, and you hear back within one business day.

  1. A person sitting at a dark walnut table beside a tall window in a cream plaster room, back to camera, looking out at a pale dusk ocean.

    Reach out

    Call (949) 670-9345 or send the verify form, and tell us if you already have a Kaiser referral.

  2. Two plain closed cream folders stacked on a walnut desk with a small brass stone on top, a dusk sea through the window beside them.

    Member ID

    Send the member ID from your Kaiser card and your date of birth, which is all we need to start.

  3. A person standing on a grassy coastal hilltop at dusk, back to camera, looking over layered ridges and the sea toward a small pale sun.

    Referral

    We ask Kaiser whether your plan needs a referral or authorization before PHP, IOP, or outpatient care at Exist.

  4. A slim cream vase holding one dried stem on a walnut table in a plaster room, a person outside the window facing a dusk cove.

    Write back

    Within one business day, we tell you what Kaiser said and what would have to happen before a start date.

What we check

The levels of care we ask Kaiser about

Each level of care is a separate question, so we ask Kaiser about all three at once. Truth House is here so you know before you plan that insurance does not cover it.

Talk to admissions

  1. PHP

    Partial hospitalization is five full clinical days a week at the Laguna Beach clinic. We ask whether Kaiser will authorize it.

    • Five days
    • Full day

  2. IOP

    Intensive outpatient is three to five half days a week at the same clinic. We ask the same referral question for it.

    • Half day
    • Same clinic

  3. Outpatient

    Weekly one-on-one sessions by appointment, in person or virtual, checked with Kaiser as its own level of care.

    • 1:1
    • By appointment

  4. Truth House

    Nights in Laguna Canyon for people already in Exist PHP or IOP. Insurance does not cover the house.

    • Nights
    • Not covered

PHP and IOP on a Kaiser plan

The week

PHP

Five full clinical days.

IOP

Three to five half days.

Before day one

PHP

Usually a Kaiser referral or authorization.

IOP

Usually a Kaiser referral or authorization.

The question

PHP

Will Kaiser authorize partial hospitalization?

IOP

Will Kaiser authorize intensive outpatient?

Nights

PHP

Home, or Truth House outside insurance.

IOP

Home, or Truth House outside insurance.

Paying with Kaiser

Benefits vary by plan, and a Kaiser plan usually has to approve care outside its own facilities before it pays. Verification is not a guarantee of payment, because the plan still reviews each claim.

Talk to admissions
  • Aetna
  • Blue Shield of California
  • UnitedHealthcare
  • Optum
  • Magellan Health
  • Cigna
  • Anthem Blue Cross
  • Kaiser Permanente

  • What we check

    Whether your plan needs a referral or authorization, and how it treats PHP, IOP, and outpatient care at Exist.

  • What we never invent

    An approval, a copay, or a number of covered days that Kaiser has not confirmed for you.

  • If Kaiser says no

    We tell you plainly, and admissions can talk through private pay or help with a referral to care your plan covers.

What to have ready for a Kaiser check

  1. 01

    Call or write

    Call (949) 670-9345 or send the verify form, and you talk with the clinic directly.

  2. 02

    ID and referral

    Have your Kaiser member ID, your date of birth, and any referral or authorization you already have.

  3. 03

    One business day

    We write back within one business day with what Kaiser said about a referral and each level of care.

(949) 670-9345

Kaiser questions, answered plainly

It depends on your plan, and Kaiser members usually need a Kaiser referral or authorization before care outside Kaiser's own facilities. We check both and write back within one business day.

Something we didn’t cover? Call (949) 670-9345 — you talk to the clinic, not a call center.

Next stepTalk to admissionsAdmissions can check your Kaiser plan and the referral question in the same call.The admissions page

Start with the referral question

Call Exist, and we will ask Kaiser what your plan requires, then tell you whether PHP, IOP, outpatient care, or a referral elsewhere is the honest next step.

Clinically reviewed by Dr. Courtney Tracy, LCSW, PsyD · Reviewed September 2026

Talk to admissions(949) 670-9345
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