Making the decision to pursue addiction treatment can be one of the most challenging decisions you’ll ever make. Once you’re clear that you do need help, however, the question of how to pay for it remains. In fact, one 2008 study found that financial issues were the primary reason why individuals in the research group decided not to undergo addiction treatment – a decision that can have disastrous results. Luckily, a lot has changed in recent years when it comes to paying for addiction treatment. Not only is it likely that your health insurance will cover at least a portion of your treatment; in some cases, it may cover all of it. Read on for everything you need to know about paying for rehab, and how to use Blue Cross Blue Shield health insurance, in particular, to do it.
Do I Need Rehab?
If you’re already considering how to pay for treatment, then it’s likely you’ve come to the conclusion that drug or alcohol addiction treatment is necessary. You’re well aware that your drug or alcohol abuse is having a negative impact on your life – and you can’t quit on your own. Residential addiction treatment is a way to break the cycle of abuse and press the reset button on your entire life.
In residential addiction treatment, you will have the opportunity to renew your entire life while learning new tools and making plans to build a better life moving forward. Addiction treatment modalities like EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing), CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy), and talk therapy might be part of the mix of techniques that will allow you to uncover and confront the long-buried traumas and emotional issues that underlie your addiction. At the same time, group therapy and experiential activities like yoga, equine therapy, or fitness programs can help you find the joy in life again. Your particular treatment program will be uniquely customized to fit your particular needs and goals.
Overall, if you put in the commitment, residential addiction treatment is absolutely a worthy investment – for you and for your insurance company.
Does Insurance Cover Rehab?
The world of addiction treatment took a huge step forward in 2008, when Congress passed the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (commonly known as MHPAEA). According to that federal law, health insurance providers that offer coverage for mental health and addiction treatment must offer the same level of benefits for that care as they do for medical/surgical treatment. Originally, the law only applied to group health insurance providers, but it was updated under the Affordable Care Act in 2010 to apply to individual insurance providers as well. Overall, the law made addiction treatment much more feasible for many people.
What Does it Mean to Be In-Network?
Much like medical providers, addiction treatment providers can be in-network or out-of-network with your particular insurance provider. In-network providers have negotiated a contract with health insurance providers requiring them to offer treatment at a particular rate. That often means that you will pay less for treatment – even before your insurance coverage kicks in.
Becoming an in-network provider is an arduous process for treatment programs, and one that can take many years. Those that are in-network with multiple insurance providers show a true commitment to helping more people afford addiction treatment. At the same time, it is proof of the longevity and strength of the programming: Insurance providers do not offer in-network contracts to just any program.
Will Blue Cross Blue Shield Cover Rehab?
Different insurance providers have widely varying types of coverage for addiction treatment. Even within one provider, the coverage can change from state to state and plan to plan. For example, Blue Cross Blue Shield has more than a dozen insurance policies that cover addiction treatment: including everything from detox to residential treatment and IOP (intensive outpatient programs), or PHP (partial hospitalization programs) and more.
The best way to find out what your particular plan covers is to call your insurance provider or a treatment provider directly. At Acqua Recovery, we are proud to be in-network with Blue Cross Blue Shield and can help verify your insurance benefits for you. Our team has the experience to help answer any questions you might have, and to get you on the path to our sanctuary for healing.
For example, it is likely that your plan will require a deductible, co-pay, or coinsurance rate – the amount that you must pay towards your own treatment. If you believe that even that amount is out of your reach, don’t rule yourself out of getting treatment. We’ll help you come up with creative solutions for payment that you might not have thought of on your own.
In addition, our team can work with you to ensure that you get the highest level of appropriate care. Sometimes, an insurance provider might require individuals to start at a lower level of treatment before proceeding to residential. If residential addiction treatment is right for you, we will work with your insurer to ensure that you get the treatment you need.
Everyone deserves and can achieve recovery from addiction. We have the data – and the experience – to prove it. Let us show you how.
