COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho — A leader with the Northern Idaho Crisis Center said insurance coverage gaps are leaving some families without enough behavioral health support when they most need it.
Sandra Mueller said one of the biggest concerns involved insurance companies not covering benefits that families in the community are paying for.
“We have a huge problem with the insurance companies not paying the benefit for behavioral health that many family members in the community pay for…” she said. “The cliff from an acute in-patient stay to therapy one day a week is very tough…” she said. “My colleagues all talk about the lack of a sort of a transition or what we call partial hospitalization or PHP programs…” she said. “Unfortunately, the, insurance companies are very anemic. They don’t pay for those services. And so it’s very hard for individual or for the community to stand those services up for free.”
She explained that the gap between an acute inpatient stay and once-a-week therapy could be difficult for people trying to keep getting care.
Mueller also said providers had talked about the lack of transition programs such as partial hospitalization programs.
She said families should know that asking for help mattered and that each crisis could look different.
“I think the biggest thing is it takes courage to say that you need help…” she said. “So it doesn’t have to fit in a box… crisis is crisis, it doesn’t matter the why behind it…” she said. “There’s resources and hope available and help available, but it takes the courage and care for themselves to say I need to do this…”
People dealing with a serious crisis, or those trying to help a loved one, could call or text 988 at any time for support.