Financial Planning-Outside Help

Residential treatment is expensive. There is no way around it. You will need to work with your insurance company, county mental health agency and state agencies. You may also need to be very creative in evaluating your personal finances to handle the cost. CHART also provides some grants for adopted children’s families in Arizona and Colorado.

Personal Health Insurance

There are a few cases where parents were able to get some coverage from their health insurance. Most companies do not currently cover residential treatment. But, it is worth appealing any decision and working closely with your insurance provider.

New Law regarding Health Insurance Coverage

There is a new federal law, The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA) that may apply to large employer (companies with more than 50 employees) health plans. MHPAEA may require your large group health plan to provide comparable mental health and substance use disorder (MH/SUD) benefits that reflect the coverage provided by your medical/surgical benefits.  MHPAEA also may prevent your large group health plan from placing annual or lifetime dollar limits on Mental Health (MH) Substance Use Disorder (SUD) benefits that are lower - less favorable - than annual or lifetime dollar limits for medical/surgical benefits offered under the plan. MHPAEA does NOT apply to small group health plans or health insurance coverage in the individual (non-employment based) market, but you should check to see if your state law requires mental health parity in such other cases. For more information on MHPAEA click here.

For laws in your specific state visit www.ncsl.org, on the right hand side of the page enter "mental health parity" then select "State Laws Mandating or Regulating Mental Health Benefits". Call your state insurance department to get more information. Medicare and Medicaid are also covered under MHPAEA.

Other State Programs

Remember funding for these programs may or may not continue to be funded as the states contend with huge deficits. Please check with your state to confirm this information.

COLORADO – HB 1116

For children not covered by Medicaid, this state program known as “House Bill” provides Colorado families partial funding for residential treatment center services. Your child must be evaluated by your county mental health agency. This bill only covers Colorado residents and the funding is decided annually by the state legislature. For more information on HB1116 you can visit www.cdhs.sate.co.us/dmh/CMHTA.htm.

ARIZONA  - AHCCCS

Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System provides psychiatric care funding for children in Arizona. If you income level is less than $1869 per month you may be able to qualify through the Long Term Care office in your county.  If you income is more than $1869 you may be eligible through the behavioral health system in your county. In both situations, you and your family will be evaluated by a registered nurse or social worker. For more information on AHCCCS call 1-800-654-8713 or in Tucson 520-205-8600.

IOWA, INDIANA, KENTUCKY, MISSISSIPPI, NEBRASKA, OKLAHOMA, OREGON

The University of Iowa has compiled a report about costs and funding for children who qualify for federal and state residential treatment center funding in these states. Click on http://www.uiowa.edu/~ipro/Papers%202008/PRTF.pdf  for more information and additional links for these states.

State Waiver Programs

Many states have also provided state waiver programs to help fund residential treatment. These state waiver programs benefits and eligibility requirements vary from state to state.  To find more information, start with your Department of Human Services.