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Treatment Costs
At the Austen Riggs Center, our approach to treatment is tailored to the needs of each individual. Naturally, therefore, each patient’s costs will vary accordingly.
Patient Costs
Riggs offers a range of treatment programs, and the total length of stay can run from six weeks to a year or more. The median length of treatment is approximately seven months. Depending on the program, the cost of the six-week evaluation and treatment phase ranges from $75,500 to $81,380*, which includes an admission consultation fee of $2,000. A payment of $50,000 (applied to the cost of treatment) is required on the day of admission. We encourage you to contact our Admissions team for specific information.
Generally, the cost of treatment for patients who remain at Riggs for a few months averages $1,134 per day. Patients remaining in treatment for longer periods of time, when clinically indicated, may step down to less costly treatment programs. Our all-inclusive fees cover room and board, intensive psychotherapy sessions four times a week**, medication management, social work and family work (if indicated), nursing care, fitness classes, access to our Therapeutic Community Program and Activities Program, and more. Download the PDF for details.
* As of 7/1/23; subject to change
** On occasion, due to holidays or therapist absences, interim therapy sessions occur two times/week
View our Program Rate Schedule or download it below:
Financial Assistance
Each year, Riggs budgets four percent of total patient billing for fee reduction/reduced fees based on need. The patient and/or financially responsible party may complete a Fee Reduction Application prior to admission or at any time during treatment. After considering all relevant factors, including a review of available financial resources and the patient’s treatment plan, we may provide a fee reduction of up to 30%.
In the event of a significant change in financial resources or treatment plan, patients may re-apply for a fee reduction; this may either increase or decrease the amount of assistance offered. Fee reductions are not retroactive but may be offered from the date of filing of a completed application. Reductions are generally granted only for days not covered by health insurance. Please note: Failure to keep an account current may jeopardize a granted fee reduction.
A prompt-payment discount of three percent is available to those who are not receiving a need-based fee reduction and not paying by credit card, and only when payment is received by the 10th of the month.
For more information or to obtain a Fee Reduction Application, contact patient billing at 413.931.5207 or our Admissions office at 800.517.4447, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Eastern). For answers regarding the application process, please contact Director of Finance Melissa Agosto at 413.931.5286.
View our Fee Reduction Application or download it below:
Health Insurance Coverage
Sadly, health insurance plans often provide only limited benefits for psychiatric treatment. Few plans reimburse all costs of long-term residential treatment programs like ours. Riggs is an out-of-network provider, does not contract with any insurance company, and is not a Medicare or Medicaid provider.
Your responsibilities: You are your own best advocate, but the Admissions office may help you gather some of the following information:
- Know your policy’s benefits and limits, including whether your plan covers residential treatment for behavioral health problems
- Provide the Admissions office your plan’s criteria for determining medically necessary residential behavioral health treatment; ask your insurance company if preauthorization is required before they will approve admission
- Ask your referring clinician to attempt preauthorization shortly before your scheduled admission consultation at Riggs
- Manage the insurance appeals process if there have been two insurance denials of preauthorization*
* It is your responsibility to (1) provide your insurance company a written request for an appeal; (2) sign a release for medical records to be sent to your insurance company; and (3) you may opt to request a letter of medical necessity from your therapist.
Our responsibilities: To the best of our ability, we will:
- Request preauthorization (within 48 hours) from your insurance company after the initial admission consultation and subsequent admission to Riggs; we cannot request preauthorization if: (1) new insurance becomes effective during ongoing treatment, and/or (2) your policy has no out-of-network residential benefit
- Notify you in writing if preauthorization is approved, and participate in ongoing utilization reviews as directed by your insurance company for as long as coverage is authorized during your stay
- Conduct a doctor-to-doctor peer review with the insurance company if preauthorization is denied; if this results in a second denial, Riggs will notify you in writing, after which it is your responsibility to pursue any further appeal**
** If requested, we can be of limited assistance in the appeals process, such as by providing supporting documentation or copies of medical records, but we do not track the appeals process and are not notified of its outcome.
Note: Upon request, Riggs will submit claims directly to the insurance company on behalf of you and/or the financially responsible party, but in any event, accounts must be kept current. Insurance payments received by Riggs are credited to your account; if there is a credit balance at discharge, it is returned to the financially responsible party.
View our Financial Assistance Policy or download it below: