Hi. I do not usually air our family problems, but in this instance I feel I have to.

My daughter has struggled with mental/behavioral health issues since entering middle school in 2022. Bullies, pre-teen drama, and underlying mental health issues pushed her to her limits. She took to cutting herself, attempted suicide twice, and took to inappropriate online activities to cope. Her school ignored her complaints about bullies until she tried to commit suicide, then they took interest in her. Insurance was, and continues to be, a nightmare to find care for this situation. Add in that the availability of therapists and/or facilities for a child her age (12) are almost impossible to find/enter. Thanks to insurance not reimbursing much, mental health care is becoming a "cash only" business. Still, I fought through for 6 months until it became evident she needed more than we, and her weekly therapy sessions, could provide. We searched for short-term inpatient treatment centers. First list from insurance gave us nothing and two even stated they would not take our insurance until its rates were renegotiated. Others did not take her age group or even know they were being listed by Cigna as this type of care. After searching out 200 miles from our home, we went with a program that is built for 10-14 year old girls, only takes small groups at a time (8ppl), and is in a home-like setting, not a hospital, and who's focus was not on mental health concerns due to drug/alcohol problems. Thankfully, we do not have those, yet. I worked with our insurance and was advised it was likely we could get an out-of-network exception with no care that far out. HOWEVER, we have placed her and without the network exception we are responsible for the $6000 insurance out-of-network maximum just to be there, any costs not approved by insurance as "covered, even in out-of-network", not to mention the costs to fly her to Oregon from Kansas City. I kept hope, as surely, we would get the exception. I did what I was supposed to. I worked with insurance, I tried to find covered facilities....

I was wrong. Insurance has denied the exception and suddenly is very interested in finding other facilities that they list as in-network. So far, they found 2 places that are 400ish miles away, one who specifically states only taking children older than my daughter, she's 12. The other is a traditional hospital with mental health ward that provides less daily counseling and daily interactions with school, therapists, and outdoor activities than the program she's in. It's co-ed for ages 5-17. They are not even close to same but because they take Cigna, they want us to use them, not the one she's in. Funny, almost a month ago, I barely got a response but now that she's placed Insurance is VERY interested in helping us find a place.

I find it very disheartening that to find appropriate mental/behavioral health care is such a challenge today when it is all over the news about how much it's needed. I have become my daughters biggest advocate and fight her school and now insurance to get help but it's expensive. We spent $2000 to fly her and I to Bend, Oregon and will spend at least that if her father and I go pick her up at end of treatment. The program has Workshop weekends, once a month, for parents and child and that is another $2000+ for both parents to go/stay. Then, there's the actual bill for her stay. I am asking, if you can, help me pay for my daughters mental/health care. It is very humbling to ask and is not something I am taking for granted. I will continue to fight the insurance and am learning all I can to be the best advocate for her in school and for her health.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Angie