Frequently Asked Questions

There are many types of insurance that offer coverage for addiction treatment and drug rehab. You can quickly check to see if your private health insurer covers addiction treatment. If not, there are still ways to get the treatment you need to overcome your addiction, such as the Affordable Care Act, Medicare, or Medicaid.

Passed in 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) was designed to give Americans more access to addiction treatment services. If the bill’s official title doesn’t sound familiar, you’ll likely recognize its informal title: Obamacare. The real power of the ACA comes in the form of massive coverage expansion, regulatory changes for existing insurance plans, and requiring insurance providers to evaluate alcohol and drug rehab needs in the same way they traditionally evaluate any other medical or surgical procedure. Obamacare gives you affordable access to a wealth of addiction treatments by forcing insurance companies to offer full or partial coverage for those treatments.

Many private insurers still don’t cover pre-existing medical conditions – alcohol and drug addiction being two common examples. Thanks to the ACA, however, insurance companies can no longer label drug or alcohol addiction as a pre-existing condition. And since it’s no longer considered pre-existing, they can no longer issue letters of denial for insurance coverage when someone needs to go to rehab for treatment.

You can buy your own ACA health insurance plan on the Health Insurance Marketplace at Healthcare.gov. It’s important to note, however, that some states actually have their own unique versions of the Marketplace. These state-run websites are totally separate from the federal Healthcare.gov site, with the main difference between the two being the amount of Medicare and Medicaid coverage each state offers.

There’s plenty of information available to help you find addiction treatment services, but what happens after you graduate from a drug or alcohol rehab program? You probably have a lot of questions about post-rehab life, including how you’re supposed to manage those first few days after leaving inpatient rehab and where to turn for support once you’re outside the safety of a treatment facility.

Life will certainly look and feel a lot different than it did when you were actively using drugs or alcohol, but with a solid aftercare plan in place, you’ll be able to successfully navigate your new world.

After you complete a treatment program, the work isn’t done. In fact, the truth of the matter is that your real work begins after leaving rehab. Look at it this way; when you have a chronic medical condition, you have to continue monitoring your condition and attending to your overall health, right? Your recovery is no different.

A typical day in rehab will vary based on which addiction treatment center or program you’re in and the level of care you need. However, most inpatient programs are very structured and will usually begin around 7 or 8 a.m. and end around 7 or 8 p.m.

You can expect a full slate of programs and activities every day. An example schedule might include the following: morning journaling, breakfast and taking any necessary medications, exercise, individual and/or group therapy, free time, lunch, vocational training, relapse prevention, group therapy session, dinner, free time, and bedtime.

Several factors will determine how long your drug or alcohol rehab program will be. The length of rehab can last anywhere from 30 days to 90 days and sometimes longer, depending on how severe your addiction is. The truth is that there is no one size fits all approach. Addiction treatment lasts as long as you need to be safe and fully recover.

The cost of addiction treatment will vary depending on several different factors, including your past drug use, the type of drugs you used, your insurance coverage, and more. Some drug and alcohol rehab facilities offer free programs, while others can cost in the thousands. The type of program you choose, the length of time you’re in it, and the treatments you receive will play a large part in how much you’ll pay.

There are several levels of care that range from highly intensive to less intensive. Usually, the more intensive treatments and levels of care will cost more than the lower levels.

Entering rehab is a significant step toward recovery for many individuals struggling with addiction. It marks the beginning of a journey toward a healthier, substance-free life. One of the common questions that people have as they prepare for this journey is, “can you have your cell phone in rehab?”

Rehab centers often have different policies regarding cell phone use. These policies often balance maintaining a therapeutic environment and recognizing the need for patients to stay connected with their support networks.