Admittedly, the cost of addiction treatment tends to be a little expensive under most circumstances. Of course, the actual costs depend on factors such as the depth of the client’s addiction and the amenities a particular rehab has to offer.
If you are concerned about paying for treatment to the point you are considering putting it off, we first want you to consider this. Your life will likely never get any better than it is today if you don’t get treatment. Even more problematic, there’s a good chance your life is going to get worse as time passes. You really don’t want to see rock bottom. That’s why it’s so important for you to get help sooner rather than later. Given the notion you may have concerns about paying for rehab, we can offer some good news. Your healthcare insurance provider is required by law to cover at least a portion of your addiction treatment costs. In the sections below, we will address what insurance companies are required to cover and how you can verify what your insurance company is offering.
How Can I Make Sure I Have the Right Insurance for Rehab?
When the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was passed in 2009, it did much more than require US citizens to maintain healthcare coverage. It also set certain coverage standards. That’s actually true in the area of drug and alcohol addiction treatment. If you have a healthcare insurance policy as an individual or through your employer, you already have the right kind of insurance to cover at least some of the costs related to addiction treatment. By law, your carrier is required to cover addiction treatment, in the same manner, it would cover other medical treatments. Also, the ACA dictates which types of treatments your carrier has to cover. What the law doesn’t dictate is the extent of coverage. As far the as areas of coverage, insurance companies are required to cover the following, at least to some extent:
- Medically-monitored and holistic detox programs
- Prescription medications related to detox and treatment
- Basic inpatient treatment costs
- All forms of outpatient treatment
- Aftercare programs such as additional counseling and sober living
The biggest issue you might run into is the cost of inpatient care. A lot of policies will only cover what the industry considers basic inpatient related costs. That usually includes room, board, individual therapy, family therapy, and group therapy. While your insurance company might choose to also cover evidence-based and holistic therapies, they are not required to do so. The insurance might also choose to cap your treatment at 60 or 90 days.
Verifying Insurance Coverage
Much like any other kind of treatment, it’s important for you to understand exactly what your insurance company is willing to cover and to what extent. Healthcare insurance is a complicated thing for laypeople to understand. For that reason, there are several things you can do to make sure you have the right coverage before entering rehab.
Read Your Insurance Rider Summary
If you have a decent understanding of healthcare insurance, you might be able to determine your level of coverage without help. You should be able to find that information on the summary page of your insurance plan documents. If your insurance comes through your employer, your Human Resources department might have this information readily available.
Contact Healthcare Insurance Company’s Customer Service
All major healthcare insurance providers offer access to customer service agents who specialize in answering coverage questions. You are within your rights to contact your insurance company’s customer service personnel to address your concerns about coverage. The problem is you might not completely understand the information you will be given. To avoid any costly misunderstandings, there’s another option.
Have Rehab Center Verify Coverage
Reputable addiction treatment centers want and need to get paid. For that reason, most of them employ an administrator who is very proficient at dealing with insurance companies. You’ll likely find that your rehab center’s administrator is more than willing to verify insurance on your behalf. Because the two parties speak the same industry language, this is an option that makes verifying insurance easy and efficient.
Knowing your insurance will likely cover a large portion of your addiction treatment costs, it should serve to eliminate your concerns about paying for treatment. If you are ready to receive help, you can pick up the phone and call one of our representatives at 800-411-8019.