Who pays for alcohol/drug rehab? I can't see insurance companies paying for it nowadays.

[raccoon]

I was just reading on another site about some man's wife coming home after a month's rehab in another state.

Also, I've known lots of people who've had relatives in rehab.

Do most of these people have to pay for it out of pocket?

[superduperfarleft]

1. Mental health parity requires that it be treated as any other sickness.

Therefore, if you have coverage for regular inpatient hospital confinement, then you have the same coverage for drug/alcohol/mental health related inpatient hospitalization.

If I remember, we have Ted Kennedy to thank for that.

[cbayer]

2. There is no parity on a federal level. Even Medicare discriminates in their coverage

of psychiatric illness, with higher copays and yearly caps.

Maybe there is parity in some states, but psychiatric/chemical dependency coverage is often not covered at all under many policies.

:hi:

[cbayer]

3. I think you are referring to this bill:

http://www.cms.hhs.gov/healthinsreformforconsume/04_thementalhealthparityact.asp


Looks pretty, but look at who it actually applies to and who is excluded.

:hi:

[sandnsea]

8. Actually, mental health parity can refer to psychiatrists only

Some insurance has paid for psychiatrists. But not all drug and alcohol treatment centers have psychiatrists on staff. In fact the good ones usually don't. In most instances, drug and alcohol treatment requirements were passed separately at the state level. Once a good number of states cover it, it's easier for insurance companies to just provide it than to make separate issues for various states although they might.

[superduperfarleft]

11. Thanks for the corrections, everyone.

I had a feeling I was either oversimplifying it or just plain wrong. :hi:

[sandnsea]

4. Depends on state laws

That's why buying across state lines is such a horrible idea. Some of us have been fighting since the 80s to get things like alcohol and drug treatment covered by insurance.

When health care reform passes, HHS will decide what is mandated in the insurance exchanges and I think mental health coverage is in the bills.

[AngryAmish]

5. I dunno. The interesting question is if rehab works.

The science is very much up in the air on that question.

[bullwinkle428]

6. Employers are willing to do it in some cases, depending on

the nature of the rehab, how highly the employee is valued, etc.

[Taverner]

7. EAP = Employee Assistance Program

And yes, some companies have cadillac plans

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

9. Some insurance companies pay for it.

If it's successful it's cheaper for them in the long run.

[dixiegrrrrl]

10. SOME insurance still does. but there is a catch.

I worked for 20 years in the Addictions field.
It used to be, in the 80's, that inpatient treatment covered 28 days of treatment.
Then insurance started cutting the number of days, until it essentially killed inpatient coverage.
However, inpatient facilities got smart and started treating "depression" and other substance abuse
related problems!
I was working in those facilities and saw the whole trend change.


More and more, as we know, insurance is paying for less and less.
A lot of people pay out of pocket for a month's stay in a substance abuse facility.
There are some very good ones around the country.

[cbayer]

12. 28 day programs were the norm, but the statistics on recovery were abysmal and

the number of days highly arbitrary.

The best correlation with recovery is the amount of time spent in a residential facility (halfway house type programs). These are much less expensive to run.

If insurance covers treatment, which it rarely does these days, inpatient treatment is generally for detox only. Then, if the patient can't get the funding for residential treatment, relapse rates are extremely high.

:hi: