Ketamine Wellness Centers, the largest ketamine therapy provider in the U.S. and a subsidiary of Delic Holdings, recently entered into a partnership with the Veterans Administration in Arizona. Veterans suffering from treatment-resistant depression, PTSD and anxiety will have access to ketamine therapy at the KWC Arizona clinics in Phoenix, Tucson and Mesa-Gilbert at no out-of-pocket cost with prior authorization from the VA.
More than 20 million veterans live in the United States, and the State of Arizona is home to upwards of 500,000 veterans. The Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion found that veterans of all ages in Arizona are three times more likely to die by suicide than non-veterans, and veterans over the age of 65 are at four times greater risk of dying by suicide than non-veterans. Unfortunately, one-third of veterans know of a fellow former service member who is not currently receiving the necessary mental health care.
KWC originated in Arizona with Dr. Mark Murphy, Dr. Ellen R. Diamond, and Kevin and Julie Nicholson as the founders. All the founders had friends and family members who were active or veterans of the service, and they were tired of the horrifying statistics about veteran suicide. They knew this treatment worked and, through expansion of their programs into other states, they could build the infrastructure to provide these life-changing treatments to our veteran community through the Hero Discount and even better through their insurance.
The nation’s largest ketamine therapy provider is one of the few ketamine providers in the U.S. authorized to partner with the VA and remains committed to offering exceptional, therapeutic services that meet the needs of each veteran seeking quality mental health care. In addition to the VA partnership, KWC also partnered with the Veterans Administration Community Care Network last year to offer ketamine treatments to veterans at no out-of-pocket cost at KWC’s locations in Burnsville and Naperville, Illinois. These partnerships are in addition to the Hero Discount offered at clinics nationwide to cover partial out-of-pocket expenses of the treatment for military veterans and first responders.
The VA has a number of ways to become a part of its network. A healthcare provider can contract directly with the VA through the Veterans Care Agreement (VCA) system. The VA system also allows other third-party insurers to participate in veteran-member coverage through the Community Care Network (CCN). KWC is actively working with the Tricare CCN network to contract for Spravato services at KWC’s locations in Denver, Seattle, Mesa-Gilbert, Phoenix, Tucson, Dallas, Houston, Reno, Las Vegas and Salt Lake City.
One of the reasons KWC cites for its success in contracting in a number of the states is it has the 13 clinics in nine states. It has found the VCA and CCN networks, like most insurers, like to work within a clinic network to allow for consistent claims processing and allow for easier contracting and payment relationships as opposed to individual clinics throughout the various states.
“At KWC, we take great pride in supporting our veterans in Arizona and across the country. Unfortunately, veterans often face challenges securing the care they seek, such as access and affordability, and our partnership with the Veterans Administration will help to alleviate some of them,” says Kevin Nicholson, CEO of KWC and COO of Delic. “The VA is a dedicated service organization that shares our commitment to supporting our veterans on the path to securing the mental health services they need to gain control over their lives again. We anticipate even more VA contracts as a result of the resources KWC has committed to expanding insurance coverage for our patients.”
