Colorado mental health clinic helps patients regardless of their insurance plan through pro bono program
A mental health clinic in Colorado is breaking barriers and enhancing health equity for minorities.
Colorado family-owned mental health clinic Axis Integrated Mental Health Clinic offers a plethora of treatments to help people struggling with their mental health. The clinic also prides itself on being able to work with patients, regardless of their insurance plan. Some even eliminate the cost for those who otherwise would not be able to afford it.
One treatment the clinic has provided to Medicaid patients is transcranial magnetic stimulation, also known as TMS. It's a therapy used to treat major depressive disorder. The cost for the treatment can range anywhere from $6,000 to $12,000. In Colorado, the cost is not covered for patients on Medicaid.
Maria Casillas of Commerce City is one patient who wouldn't be able to get this treatment if it wasn't for the clinic.
TMS uses magnetic fields to stimulate nerve cells in the brain associated with mood regulation, which Casillas says has been a game changer for her.
"I feel a lot better than how I was feeling," Casillas said in Spanish.
After trying out countless antidepressants and even Spravato, she had lost hope she would ever overcome her depression. It wasn't until she tried TMS that she quickly began to see changes in her mood.
"I've done other treatments and they have not worked as much as this has," Casillas said.
The non-invasive treatment is nearly 80% effective in patients, though a downside could be the price tag, especially for those without insurance or on Medicaid.
Axis co-founder Liesl Perez believes in making a difference by providing care to people in underserved communities.
"Our clinic, since we started, has written off $300,000 of free mental health care to patients who really needed it the most," Perez said.
The clinic opened its doors in 2020 and has now expanded to three clinics in total, Aurora, Westminster and Louisville.
"For the populations that we are serving, that is extremely important," Perez said. "People do not realize they can afford mental health care, they do not know how to navigate the system."
Serving patients like Casillas at no cost offering TMS therapy through its' pro bono program.
"It was like a miracle," she said. "I couldn't believe this treatment would be free for me, until now."
Through this program, the clinic aims to increase health equity, especially among people in minority communities who face barriers to mental health services.
"We are healing family systems and we are healing lots of generational traumas that comes with mental illness," Perez said.
TMS therapy is currently covered by eighteen state Medicaid programs, though Colorado is not one of them, this clinic aims to help those seeking the therapy regardless of their insurance plan.
