CASH ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

Many individuals cannot access eating disorder treatment due to prohibitive financial barriers. Even those with insurance often cannot access their benefits due to high deductibles, out-of-pocket maximums, and copays.

Project HEAL offers one-time cash assistance grants to individuals who are able to demonstrate financial need so that they can access the care they need and deserve. In some cases, cash assistance enables these individuals to unlock their insurance benefits and access treatment through their existing coverage. In other cases, we are able to bypass insurance barriers altogether through cash assistance grants by paying certain providers directly. We also cover travel costs and other tertiary expenses associated with going to treatment.

Costs that are eligible to be covered by the Cash Assistance Program:

  • Deductibles

  • Co-pays

  • Travel (flights, gas cards)

  • Lodging (hotels, etc)

  • Groceries

  • Limited number of sessions with BIPOC and/or TGNCI providers with shared identities

Costs that are not eligible to be covered by the Cash Assistance Program:

  • Entire treatment episodes at higher levels of care (instead apply for the Treatment Placement Program for free treatment through one of our HEALers Circle partners)

  • Debt incurred from treatment previously received or a higher-level-care treatment episode that is already in progress

WHAT A BENEFICIARY SAID ABOUT THEIR experience with cash assistance:

“I signed up for the groups you sent to me and I can’t thank you enough for that, it gives me a sliver of relief as I wrestle with my upheaval. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart. I deeply appreciate the cash assistance that Project HEAL is able to provide; this will significantly reduce the financial burden of receiving PHP treatment.”

Barriers broken down by this program:

  • Exorbitant costs of treatment

  • High deductibles

  • High co-pays

  • Inability to pay bills/rent while not working to go to treatment

  • Lack of credit to consider going into debt for treatment

  • Lack of geographic proximity to appropriate care

  • COVID-19 impact

art by Tim Mossholder