Clinically Reviewed by Sarah Hogan, MA LPC
Sarah is a Licensed Professional Counselor with 13 years of experience in the behavioral health field as well as a certified provider of Cognitive Processing Therapy for Trauma. She has extensive experience in counseling and case management with local mental health authorities, emergency homeless shelters, leading high acuity response teams, and serving first responders/veterans.
If you are considering going to rehab in Texas, one of the first questions you will probably ask yourself is, how do I pay for it? Does insurance cover drug treatment in Texas? How do you find out what your plan covers? Planning for rehab in Texas can be a bit of a challenge.
Plenty of planning to do, and emotions are running high. You’ve discovered your loved one has a substance use disorder. You want to be sure to get them the best addiction treatment in Texas and naturally, you want to utilize your health insurance to do it. So where to begin? This Plum Creek Recovery Ranch blog will help you understand it all.
Does Insurance Cover Alcohol and Drug Rehab in Texas?
Good news. Private health insurance covers both alcohol and drug treatment in the U.S. This wasn’t always so, however. When the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was passed in 2010 it brought some meaningful changes to addiction treatment. One of the biggest was that it increased and simplified access to addiction rehab in Texas and the rest of the United States.
The ACA made health insurance companies cover addiction treatment. It extended the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act too, which means insurance companies have to provide addiction and mental health coverage equal to other services. What all this means to you is that no matter what private health insurance plan you have, it will cover some portion of rehab in Texas. This would not necessarily have been the case before these laws.
How Long Can I Go To Rehab in Texas with My Insurance?
A common question about rehab in Texas is “How long is it”? Most people want to make sure they get as much help for addiction as possible, which is very understandable. The answer isn’t always simple, though. That’s why calling our admissions department is usually the first step.
Without getting into the weeds too much, the way insurance covers rehab in Texas and everywhere else, is they authorize a certain number of days of rehab at a time. There are also different levels of care, which include Detox, Inpatient, Partial Hospitalization, and Intensive Outpatient. It’s not important to understand all of these to make a good decision on rehab in Texas, though. But, If you want to learn more about these levels of care, the ASAM website has all the details right here.
It is important to understand that how much time you get in rehab isn’t decided beforehand. As a person moves through their rehab experience, the clinical staff reports back to your insurance company about the patient’s progress and results. Then the insurance company authorizes additional days or weeks of care based on that information.
Rest assured that Plum Creek Recovery Ranch always works hard to get every client we treat the best care possible from their insurance plan. In fact, we have staff members that focus on that exclusively. You will get as much care as possible at our rehab in Texas.
What to Ask the Admissions Department About Your Insurance
Now that you know your health insurance must offer coverage for addiction treatment, you probably want to know what your responsibility is. Let’s face it; insurance is kinda confusing and hard to understand sometimes. Deductibles. Co-pays. Out-of-pocket. Networks?. Where do you start?
We suggest getting what’s called a “verification of benefits” from the admissions department. This won’t cost you any money and doesn’t lock you into going to treatment anywhere. It’s also completely private.
The treatment center contacts your insurance company to find out exactly what your plan covers for you. After that, the admissions coordinator can explain that to you in plain language so you can make an informed decision about rehab.
Here are some good questions to ask your admissions coordinator:
- Does this rehab accept my insurance?
- Are detox services covered under my insurance? (if detox is needed)
- Does my insurance cover inpatient/residential treatment?
- What is my deductible and co-pay? What will I need to pay upfront?
A Better Day is Just a Phone Call Away
Don’t worry, you do not need to be an insurance expert to make a smart decision about rehab for yourself or the person you love. Knowing what your plan covers, though, and what it means will help put your mind at ease.
That’s why talking to an admissions coordinator can really help. There are a lot of options for addiction treatment out there. No matter what insurance you have or what your resources are, we promise you there is a way forward! Of course, we hope you choose Plum Creek Recovery Ranch. We think we have one of the most appealing and therapeutic rehabs in Texas here and we’d love to answer your questions about it! Give us a call at (512) 764-1948
