How Can I Pay for Rehab?

Rehab is Expensive

The high cost is something that a lot of people get stuck on when it comes to rehab. Long-term inpatient and residential programs, which are proven most effective, of course are the most expensive ones.

Many people who have been suffering from addiction can’t even hold down a job anymore. Or maybe they spent all their money on alcohol and drugs. Let’s be honest, they may have even stolen their friends’ stuff so they could keep drinking. Moral of the story is, they are broke! How are they supposed to pay for treatment?

Good question. We’ll get there, but first…

Why Does Treatment Cost SO MUCH?

Think about rehab as any other kind of medical treatment… except for way more involved! There are doctors and nurses on staff to ensure the physical health of clients. There are mental health professionals, licensed therapists with degrees in psychology on staff. An intake team has to be paid to answer the phones, sing people up, and help provide resources for addiction. A marketing team may even be involved, to make people aware of their services.

On top of this, a treatment company has to fund actual housing for clients in residential treatment, and pay the employees who oversee these facilities. Then there is transportation, food, exercise. To put it plainly, there are a lot of moving parts needed to ensure the kind of highly immersive care that is ideal for addiction treatment.

Basically, these places wouldn’t exist if they didn’t charge a lot of money—they have to shell out a lot of cash just to offer these services.

Insurance Helps Pay for Rehab

Most insurance companies will cover or help to cover the cost of addiction treatment, as long as it is declared necessary for the patient. What amount insurance will pay depends on the severity of a patient’s condition and what level of treatment is needed.

The main tiers of treatment, from the most intensive to the least, are: inpatient and detox, residential, intensive outpatient, and outpatient. Insurance will almost always help with outpatient services, the least expensive form of treatment. When it comes to inpatient and residential, most insurance will still help if provided clear medical proof of a patient’s need.

A few common insurance companies that cover alcohol and drug addiction treatment are Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and Cigna. Some Cigna health insurance plans will actually cover 100 percent of rehab, for example. Blue Cross insurance coverage for alcohol rehab is broken up into three main categories: psychiatric, psychological, and social work.

Different degrees of these types of care are covered, based on need. Whatever the case is with your insurance company, make sure that you find out ahead of time.

Medicare, Medicaid, and Other Resources

If you don’t have insurance, there are still options for you. Medicare and Medicaid are government funded programs that are designed to assist certain populations in need.

You might qualify if you have been unemployed for an extended period or make less than a certain amount annually. If you are younger than 19 or older than 65, you might qualify as well. Additionally, coverage is offered to women in need who are pregnant. These programs help pay for treatment the way that insurance would.

There are more resources and options available to you than you probably even know. Beyond insurance, Medicare, and Medicaid, there is yet other programs that help pay for treatment. Lots of organizations have scholarship programs that help pay for rehab and treatment.

Scholarships can be especially helpful for sober living residences, which many insurance companies won’t pay for. These are great for people who are leaving residential care, as transitional housing that maintains a level of support and accountability.

Also, most treatment centers offer payment plans that make it more affordable. Ask about these options so that you aren’t too overwhelmed.

Seek Treatment Anyway

Here’s the thing. Addiction itself is incredibly expensive. How much money you have spent on alcohol over the years, just to maintain the habit or to stay well? In addiction, most people will do whatever it takes to keep drinking or using drugs. Think of recovery in the same sense.

In addiction, your brain tells you that you need to keep drinking to be okay, to stay alive, to feel well. Of course, this isn’t really true. In recovery, though, staying sober is necessary to stay well, to stay alive, and to be happy. Get a payment plan and pay off your treatment for years if you need to! Money comes and goes, but your life is on the line. You can’t get more life if you lose it. Don’t let it come to that.

If you want to know whether your insurance will cover treatment or specifics about other payment methods, call (877) 670-8451.