Montana Academy

For new students enrolling after July 1st of last year, and for all families starting January 1st of current year, MA tuition both at the Ranch and at Sky House will be $9,300 per month. There is also a $2,000 acceptance fee as a one-time charge at enrollment.

Follow the links below for information and forms about enrollment, insurance and school district reimbursement:

Enrollment Agreement

• For new students enrolling after July 1st of last year, and for all families starting January 1st of current year, MA tuition both at the ranch and at Sky House will be $9,300 per month.
• Montana Academy admits students only when parents commit to pay for the full course of treatment (typically 14-18 months) in timely fashion without depending upon third party reimbursement. Many families are ultimately able to obtain partial reimbursement for clinical services, and have found the cost of treatment to be tax deductible, but such financial benefits are unpredictable and often obtained after the fact.
• Tuition is due by the 1st of each month. Residual days in the month of enrollment (and in the month of graduation) will be prorated. Families are expected to pay first and last months’ tuition at enrollment along with prorated tuition for the month of entry.
• In the event parents (or guardians) withdraw a student prior to completion of the program without the agreement of the treatment team, last month’s tuition will be forfeit. Late charges for delinquent tuition payments are incurred at the rate of 1½% of the outstanding balance each month.
• Families are billed separately for student services that do not apply equally to all students, e.g., transportation to the airport, or for trips to town for medical/dental appointments, psychiatric consultations, pharmacy and health clinic charges. On occasion there are charges for optional special off-campus activities, such as trips to foreign countries, but such activities are optional, and parental permission would be required beforehand.
• The $2,000 Acceptance fee is a one-time charge at enrollment that covers the review and processing of applications, initial review of clinical/testing records and psychiatric evaluation, nursing assessment, records review, pharmacy set-up, initial treatment plans and miscellaneous supplies, textbooks and equipage not provided as standard clothing or wilderness gear.
• Parents are are note billed separately for student allowances, laundry, team outings, skiing, and other off campus cultural or sports activities.
• Parents know and accept that MA will not graduate a student from high school unless (s)he also completes the emotional growth program.
• Transcripts will not be released until all bills are paid.
• In the event a student is expelled from MA parents will arrange to remove the student within 24 hours. Failing prompt removal , MA will arrange a reputable escort service, at parents expense, to transport the student either home or to another program as chosen by the parent.
• Parents agree to abide by treatment team’s judgment regarding timing and duration of student passes and will uphold and comply with all limits and rules established by MA and treatment teams.
• Jurisdiction for necessary actions for collection will be in district court, Flathead County, Montana. In any such action, the prevailing party shall be entitled to recover reasonable costs and attorneys’ fees. If any one provision of this agreement is determined to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable, the remainder shall not be affected and shall be enforceable to the fullest extent permitted by law.

Insurance Reimbursement

• Montana Academy admits students only when parents commit to pay for the full course of treatment in timely fashion without depending upon third party reimbursement. A teenager ought not be asked to start the difficult work of treatment unless parents can make this commitment. Some parents manage to negotiate reimbursement from third party payers, but payments usually become available only after the fact and after often-strenuous and protracted negotiation involving parents or their advocates.
• Montana Academy does not “accept” insurance, does not agree to wait beyond the first of each month for tuition to be paid, and will not negotiate with, or otherwise participate in “managed care” with insurance companies. For our clinical work and program MA answers only to parents and students. However, MA will send treatment records (e.g., progress notes) to any specific party at a specific address parents request in writing to have them sent. But MA staff do not conduct telephone “reviews” or provide special reports or participate in “reviews” conducted by phone or by mail.
• In recent years some health insurers have agreed to reimburse parents for the clinical services (individual, group and family therapies; psychiatric evaluation and consultation; health clinic fees; and medication management) embedded in the program and already paid for in monthly tuition.
• However, many insurance companies still will not pay for these clinical services based simply on a billing statement. Some demand much more—and wish to de-bate, or demand justification, and want to argue with our clinicians about diag-noses or treatment plans. This we will not do. We simply will not argue or debate or provide justifications or appeals for insurance companies.
• If parents wish to pursue reimbursement from insurance companies, we recommend that they hire—at what we consider to be a very reasonable cost—an insurance advocate to handle these negotiations, and to keep them out of the treatment field, and not distract students’ clinical staff at all. To this end, we have arranged contractually for a reputable insurance advocate to access a student’s treatment records online—with (your) parental permission—and so be able to submit claims with dates, CPT codes, together with regional fees, and also provide licensed professionals to debate insurance minions, to provide documentation from direct access to our clinical records, and not to charge unless they collect for families.
• This firm’s name suggests what they do: advocate for parents, not coach parents about how to do the work themselves. Their business model is unique, insofar as we know, and their service comprehensive—they do it all for you—and charge ten percent (10%) of what they collect for families. In sum, their staff file, discuss, justify and explain, and reimburse—all without intruding upon the proper tasks of MA clinicians.
• SJHIA starts by evaluating your health insurance policy so as to discuss the prospects for reimbursement with you. They correspond with the company to arrange a collaboration. They retrieve directly from MA records the requisite information and documentation for claims. The work is done by their own professional staff, and, given our experience with insurance companies, we think their 10% cut to be a bargain.1 If you chose to submit your own claims we will, upon formal parental requests to our business office, provide a clinical billing with dates of service and CPT billing codes each month. But be warned, MA will not answer written or telephone requests directly from insurance companies for further information or justification. And unless parents are prepared to go to the mat with them, many insurance companies will find a way to deny those claims.