Help paying for alcohol rehab or treatment: Where to find it

Paying for addiction treatment may seem impossible to some, but it doesn’t have to be. If you need drug rehab but don’t think you can afford, there are ways to find financial help. You just need to know where to ask. More here.

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Paying for alcohol rehab or treatment

As you most likely already know, alcohol rehab or treatment can be very expensive. In fact, in many cases, a 28 day inpatient rehab can cost 20K or more, which is not something that most people have stuffed under their mattress.

Although you may believe that you can’t finance alcohol rehab, in reality you can’t afford to simply dismiss it as an unnecessary expense. By successfully completing an alcohol rehab program, you’ll be saving yourself even more money in lifetime costs. Some of these costs include:

  • Purchasing alcohol
  • Legal fees
  • Lost wages due to alcohol related problems
  • Healthcare costs due to alcohol related problems

Affordable Care Act and alcohol and rehab

First off, know that the federal government is making changes that benefit you.  The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is often better known as the Affordable Care Act or ObamaCare. It was signed into law by President Barack Obama in the spring of 2010. The purpose of this law is to expand access to health insurance to more individuals.

Once the Affordable Care Act is fully implemented, health insurance companies will be required to offer affordable healthcare coverage to everyone, and everyone will be required to carry health insurance. This law also requires health insurance companies that offer mental health and alcohol rehab coverage to keep co-pays reasonable and allow policyholders access to quality care. This law also attempts to expand Medicaid eligibility, so more people will qualify for government funded state medical assistance. To find out if your state will be expanding their Medicaid program, check with your county assistance office.

Financing alcohol rehab or treatment

If insurance or Medicaid can’t be used to help cover the costs of alcohol rehab or treatment, there are still a few resources that you can use to finance alcohol rehab.

1. Your own personal savings. If you’ve been saving money for a rainy day, you may have enough in your savings account to finance alcohol rehab. If not, you may be able to get a personal loan from your bank or credit union. You can also borrow money from retirement accounts, such as 401K’s and IRA’s, as well as some life insurance policies. However, be diligent about paying this money back, since it will result in lower benefits for you or your beneficiaries if you don’t.

2. Seek out low cost (subsidized) alcohol rehab programs. SAMHSA administers allocation of congressional funds to thousands of treatment centers in the U.S. Check out the SAMHSA Treatment Locator online or call 1-800-662-HELP for a referral to a local alcohol treatment or treatment program near you.

3. Arrange a payment plan or sliding scale payment directly. Alcohol rehabs often can finance alcohol treatment or can offer your direct payment options based on your earnings. Speak with an admissions adviser for more information on direct out-of-pocket payment options.

Help paying for alcohol rehab or treatment

You may find that you’re unable to finance alcohol rehab on your own. In this case, keep in mind that there’s no shame in asking for help. There are a handful of places that you can turn to if you need help paying for alcohol rehab or treatment.

Some employers may offer employee assistance programs, for instance, which helps employees arrange treatment and work with their insurance companies. Many alcohol rehab facilities also offer sliding scale fees, which can help reduce the overall costs of alcohol rehab. Some alcohol rehab programs that are run by non-profit organizations may even offer free treatment to individuals in need. Finally, call or visit local recovery community centers, religious centers, or medical centers and talk about your need and desire for treatment. Scholarships to alcohol rehab are awarded locally. You just need to find the source of help.

Alcohol rehab or treatment payment questions

Although it may be frustrating trying to figure out how to pay for alcohol rehab, realize that you don’t have to tackle this problem alone. We’re always happy to help and inform our readers in any way we can. Simply leave your alcohol rehab payment questions in the comments section below, and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.

Reference Sources: NCBI: Benefit–Cost in the California Treatment Outcome Project: Does Substance Abuse Treatment “Pay for Itself”?
The White House: Substance Abuse and the Affordable Care Act
SAMHSA: Health Reform
MCCA: Employee Assistance Program
About the author
Lee Weber is a published author, medical writer, and woman in long-term recovery from addiction. Her latest book, The Definitive Guide to Addiction Interventions is set to reach university bookstores in early 2019.
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