Cost to Treatment Centers | Video

Retha Colclasure | 2/25/2013

Providing what centers say is necessary treatment without receiving payment from insurance companies is affecting other treatment centers more seriously. New Freedom Center in Bismarck says they`ve been denied about 80 percent of the time by Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota in the past year and a half.

And providing longer-term residential care at that rate is causing financial strain on the agency.

"Frankly, it`s cost us a lot of money. We were for quite awhile, about six months, keeping people in residential treatment even though we were only getting a much lower level reimbursement for their care but you can only do that so long without going bankrupt so we don`t do that any longer," said Clinical Director Dick Elefson.

He says when guests aren`t covered by insurance, they have the option to pay for treatment out of pocket, but admits that isn`t easily affordable.

"There`s not too many. By the time they`re ready for treatment, they`ve exhausted much of their resources. They`re not able to pay for treatment on their own."

Elefson says Blue Cross in other states haven`t changed their coverage policies. He says the difficulty with BCBS North Dakota is the center never knows what the company means by medical necessity when determining how much coverage to approve.

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