If you’re ready to get help for your addiction, how to pay for rehab could be weighing heavily on your mind. Cost is certainly an understandable concern given that it’s long been one of the greatest barriers to treatment.
The good news is that it doesn’t have to be. There are many ways of paying for drug rehab, and many insurance plans cover treatment completely. With cash pay, payment plans, and some facilities offering scholarships, you are hardly lacking options. At Mississippi Drug and Alcohol Treatment Center, we believe that the first step towards getting essential care is learning more about what these options are.
Does Insurance Cover Drug Rehab?
When it comes to the long-term costs of treating addiction-related illnesses, health insurance companies actually stand to save money by paying for some or all of their policyholders’ rehab services. Thus, many private-pay insurance companies are willing to cover most if not all of this care.
Need help assessing your coverage?
Our admissions team is standing by. Give us a call or click the button below to verify your insurance. Once we have your information, we’ll follow up with you to review your coverage and treatment options.
Paying for Rehab With Insurance
If you currently have health insurance, the best way to determine what your plan’s limitations are in this area is by contacting your insurer directly. When you call Mississippi Drug and Alcohol Treatment Center for a pre-intake interview, we can review your plan provisions as well. We’re currently an in-network provider for:
- Molina Healthcare
- Ambetter
- First Choice
- First Health
and we’re also a TRICARE Certified Partner.
The amount of coverage that a person’s plan provides doesn’t necessarily reflect the amount or type of treatment that they need. Your plan may have limits on how long you can spend in treatment, and on the types of therapies and services that are covered.
As you complete the admissions process, you’ll be given a comprehensive breakdown of covered fees, and fees that you’re responsible for paying on your own. All health insurance companies require patients to cover any plan deductibles that they haven’t yet paid. You may be additionally required to cover certain prescription fees and co-payments. When insurance covers rehab in part, any remaining fees can be paid for in other ways.
Access to Insurance Through the Marketplace ACA
You don’t even need to have an active health insurance plan to get the benefit of covered rehab. Due to the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), private-pay health insurance companies can no longer penalize applicants for pre-existing health conditions. This means that you can enroll in a qualified health plan today, even though you already have a known addiction.
Best of all, Marketplace Insurance through the Affordable Care Act offers applicants access to a surprisingly vast range of plan types and insurance companies. By carefully shopping your options, you can find a plan with a reasonable monthly premium that will cover most or all of your rehab stay.
How Insurance Plans Are Different
When shopping for insurance through the ACA Marketplace, it’s important to understand the differences between the available plan types. If you’ve never shopped for health insurance before, terms like HMO, PPO, and EPO probably won’t have much meaning. In reality, however, the type of plan that you choose can play a major role in determining how much coverage you get, which rehab facilities you’re able to attend, and how much you end up paying for out-of-pocket among other factors.
HMO Insurance Plan
HMO plans or Health Maintenance Organization plans provide policyholders with access to a local network of doctors. Although you’ll have a very limited range of in-network providers and facilities to choose from, your monthly premiums will be lower than if choosing other plan types.
It’s important to note, however, that while HMO plans come with affordable premiums, they usually have high deductibles. A deductible is the amount of money that you’ll have to pay out-of-pocket before your coverage actually kicks in. It is a yearly fee and once it’s been paid, it will not need to be paid again throughout the annual coverage term.
PPO Insurance Plan
PPOs have slightly higher premiums than HMO plans, but they provide access to a larger network of medical facilities and providers. Also known as a Preferred Provider Organization plan, a PPO plan offers greater freedom and flexibility all-around. While paying more, you’ll have the option of being treated by who you want, where you want, and of determining which treatment types are right for you.
EPO Insurance Plan
Finally, there are EPO plans or Exclusive Provider Organization plans. Like HMO plans, they provide access to a more local and limited range of providers and facilities. With both HMO and PPO plans, some services can still be covered in part if you seek care out of your network. Conversely, EPO plans will not cover any facility visits or medical services that are provided outside of the approved network apart from any acknowledged emergencies.
Paying for Rehab Out-of-Pocket
Paying for rehab out-of-pocket is always a choice. Many patients put some or all of their addiction treatment charges on their credit or debit cards. Others seek outside funding by applying for loans, leveraging high-value assets, and applying for scholarships.
If scholarships are available through any third-party organization that works with a rehab center, you’ll find out about these opportunities when speaking with an admissions counselor.
Finally, there is also the option of making a payment plan. This will break any costs that aren’t covered by health insurance or scholarships down into manageable increments. However, when choosing payment plans, patients or their families must remit the total amount owed before treatment is completed. Both fundraising and crowdsourcing are also acceptable ways to cover some or all of your addiction treatment costs.
State Funded Options
Medicare and Medicaid are federal and state-sponsored health plans that can be used for rehab services. Medicaid provides healthcare coverage for low-come families, the elderly, expectant mothers, and persons with disabilities. Some states offer Medicare coverage for low-income families with a specific cap for income.
To qualify for a federally-sponsored Medicare plan, applicants must be 65 or older, or have a recognized disability.
In addition to Medicaid and Medicare, there are also a number of state-run rehab centers that operate under federal funding. Many of these facilities offer options for inpatient and outpatient care, as well as various forms of aftercare support. When choosing government-run programs, people have a more limited range of options available to them, and there are often lengthy wait times for admission due to high demand.
If you’re ready to start addiction treatment but have questions about the costs of rehab and the available options for payment, we can help. Call us today 855-334-6120 to speak with one of our admissions counselors.
