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County officials and providers address behavioral health access and insurance concerns at commissioners meeting
Summary
At the Oct. 13, 2025 Alamance County Board of Commissioners meeting, a representative of a Medicaid managed‑care organization reviewed usage and referral data for the Alamance Behavioral Health Center and county officials said they would investigate a public report that a child was turned away because the facility reportedly did not accept Cigna insurance.
At the Oct. 13, 2025 Alamance County Board of Commissioners meeting, a representative of a Medicaid managed-care organization reviewed usage and referral data for the Alamance Behavioral Health Center and county officials said they would investigate a public report that a child seeking care was turned away because the facility reportedly did not accept Cigna insurance.
Why it matters: County and provider officials told commissioners the center is intended as a short‑term stabilization and referral point for people in mental‑health or substance‑use crises. Confusion about what services the center provides and which insurers it accepts can lead people in crisis to feel they were denied care.
Cara Donor, identified in the meeting as regional director of community relations for Via Health, presented performance figures for the behavioral-health site. Donor said the center served about 1,141 members in June and 1,271 in July, and that staffing and intake times had improved: “In August, the average time to assessment was 37 minutes,” she said, compared with just over an hour in July. Donor also said readmissions dropped from 14 in July to one in August and that Burlington Police Department was the single largest referral source alongside self and family referrals and residential facilities. “It shouldn’t matter, and from anywhere. It’s not just, it’s not just Alamance County,” Donor said, referring to who may be served by the center.
During public comment and later discussion, speakers reported at least one case in which a mother said her child was turned away because the facility would not accept the child’s Cigna insurance. A speaker who identified themself as sheriff said he had been told the facility did not accept Cigna; the board asked staff and the center’s operator to determine what happened and report back. Donor told commissioners she would follow up: “I will certainly let you know.”
Alamance Regional Medical Center President Chad Boer told the board the hospital recently received state approval in a certificate‑of‑need process to expand services in Mebane but expects an appeal from a competing applicant that could delay work for months. Boer also asked county staff about a previously agreed pathway between ARMC and the county behavioral-health parking lot; a county representative said staff would investigate and follow up with ARMC.
Commissioners and county staff repeatedly cautioned meeting attendees that the county’s behavioral‑health diversion center is not a psychiatric hospital and that the facility’s 16 beds are intended for temporary stabilization and referral to longer‑term care when needed. Commissioners encouraged clearer public messaging about the center’s role and insurance acceptance.
The board took no formal vote on services or contracts during the discussion; staff said follow‑up and any required agenda items would return to a future meeting.
