Help Ava get the long-term treatment she needs.
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My name is Karla Renee and my daughter, Ava Hope, is 14 years old. She has suffered with mental health issues for the past 3 years. She has been admitted 5 different times to 4 different psychiatric hospitals in the last 3 years. She was first admitted in the summer of 2019 and stayed 10 days where they diagnosed her with major depression. Her 2nd admission was in February 2020 and she stayed 7 days. The 3rd admission was in February 2021, she stayed 5 days. All of the stays up until this point were because she had suicidal ideations, but had never acted on it. After each discharge she was to continue her medication and recommended to get therapy/ counseling in the outpatient setting. Therapy wasn't easy, it was very difficult to find someone currently taking new patients and even more difficult to find someone who would take her insurance because mental health was not covered. On September 24, 2021 she was admitted for her 4th inpatient stay because she swallowed a handful of ibuprofen. This was the first time she had acted upon the idea, not just talked or threatened it. She spent 15 days inpatient on this admission. I begged at the time of discharge for her to go to a long-term care facility where they could evaluate her more extensively and she could receive additional help, but were told nothing like that existed for adolescents, especially in Louisiana, the facilities around here only treat adults. Once discharged , it was recommended she receive Intensive Outpatient Treatment, where she would have 3 or more counseling sessions a week. All to find out, again, not covered. And when they say not covered, they mean none of it. She would have to be a private pay patient and to attend just one session it would cost over $100 each time. This was just something I couldn't afford alone. So I found a counselor who would do individual counseling via TeleHealth, video call, and she would be able to bill Ava's secondary insurance, UnitedHealth Medicaid, and they covered it. This was amazing news!! As you see, their dad carries commercial insurance on them and has for years but only qualified for Medicaid as a secondary. But it became apparent very quickly that Ava wasn't gonna cooperate. She would consistently not answer or attend the TeleHeath session and when she would need to go in person, I couldn't get her in the car. She was butting heads with me at every turn. Stopped taking her medicine because she thought she didn't need it. Didn't matter if I physically gave it to her every time, I couldn't hold her down and make her take it. She became very defiant over everything she was asked and expected to do or help around the house. Her anxiety has always been terrible so if she went anywhere you didn't know how long she would be able to stay in public before she was too overwhelmed and need to leave. On May 31, 2022 Ava was admitted for the 5th time for drinking half a bottle of Nyquil and texting she was going to kill herself. She spent 10 days inpatient and I finally received some information I had never been told previously, there was a long-term facility in Baton Rouge for adolescent girls ages 13-17 and because the insurance she currently is covered under covers mental health treatment, it was likely they would cover the necessary 60 day stay. This was the best news I had received. I was ecstatic, finally, a new option and hopefully she could receive the care she desperately needed. The first hurdle, they didn't have a bed available when they discharged her from inpatient so she would have to come home and wait for a bed to become available. Ok, not terrible. The case manager sent me a list of lab tests/ procedures that need to be completed for pre-admit and once she received the results and reports, she could advise on the next step, regarding insurance. Finally got all results and reports and they had a bed available. Only to find out that a special contract was required to be approved by the insurance company to agree for them to cover it. This is when it gets scary. I received word that the insurance approved her stay but, because the facility isn't in network, they had to do a single case agreement with her insurance. That means, the insurance will cover the stay but the remainder of the deductible that had not yet been met must be paid upon admission, also, the insurance company has the ability to choose how long they would pay to cover her stay. The treatment length is 60 days, so the insurance can decide when to stop covering her stay at almost any point and I would have to decide for her to stay or be discharged. If insurance wasn't covering it and I chose for her to stay and to complete the 60 days of recommended treatment, I would be responsible for the remaining days at a rate of $850 per day. And the kicker, they want her admitted the next day, less than 12 hours from being notified of availability, insurance approval, and admission but again, the remainder of the deductible is due at the same time, almost $2000. Also, the list of items she would need to bring includes brand new sealed containers for all toiletries and a specified number for each article of clothing and there are restrictions on some items and some items wouldn't meet the restrictions. Again, pay $2000 upon admission, purchase necessary items, then admit, but it couldn't happen. I am not able to do such a significant amount on such a short notice. I wouldn't be able to do it alone. So now she is facing the possibility of not getting treatment and this time is the closest we have ever gotten for her to be able to receive some intensive help. I am asking anyone that can possibly help, to please do so if you can. Share and pray if you aren't available to help. I'm very scared what could eventually happen if she doesn't receive treatment. If you can't donate, please share and pray for her. We understand that not everyone can donate. Anything received from this fundraiser will be used strictly for Ava's treatment.
Organizer
Karla McNabb
Organizer
Denham Springs, LA
