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Boarding Schools
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Residential
Residential Boarding Schools or R.T.C.’s are sometimes eligible
for insurance coverage. Some insurance companies will pay for placement
in an R.T.C.; when they may refuse to pay for a specialty school. If they
do pay, the facility will usually need to be approved from an organization
known as the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations
or JCAHO. JCAHO approved facilities have more requirements that need to
be met than an R.T.C. facility. Usually an insurance company will pay
for around 30 or 60 days in a R.T.C. type facility, but usually only if
it is JCAHO approved.
This sometimes is more like a vacation for the teen. The other drawback
is the fact that it is short term. Short term is typically not adequate
to help make lasting changes in a teen¹s life. If you are considering
placement in an R.T.C. you should usually plan on following it up with
a long term, follow up placement. This type of placement is usually necessary
if the teen has serious substance abuse issues and will need a de-tox
period. Residential Treatment Centers are typically more of a medical
or clinical type placement rather than a boarding school placement. There
are R.T.C.¹s however that include education, and behavior modification
as part of their milieu.
Residential Treatment Centers vary in price as well as typical length
of stay. Sometimes a program will have two different price structures.
They will have one price for insured families and one for non insured
families. The program is in essence giving a discount to the family for
bearing the total financial burden of their teens care. It is good to
find out if and what your insurance plan will cover before you begin the
process of searching for placement for your teen. If you know what you
have to work with it will save time as your search. If you are unable
to financially handle the cost of placing your child, you will have to
rely on what benefits your insurance company may offer you. Contact your
benefits coordinator at your place of employment or review your benefits
manual. You can also contact the numbers on the back of your insurance
card. This will require several phone calls and you should be prepared
to be transferred several times before you find the appropriate person
to give you the answer you are looking for. Be sure to write the name
down of anyone that has been helpful so you can get back in touch with
them directly. If possible have your insurance company send you a letter
stating that they will pay for what you are looking for and if possible
have them send you some choices in their network. If you find an out of
network program there may still be some help available but usually at
a reduced rate or shorter length of stay. Some R.T.C.¹s have a benefit
person in the admission¹s office that may be able to help you, but
usually you will have more time, and interest to chase this information
down than they will.
