INSURANCE FOR ADDICTION TREATMENT

In most cases, medical detox is necessary. During medical detox, you stay in a detox center with 24-hour supervision by medical personnel until the drug or alcohol toxins are successfully eliminated from your body. Because some withdrawal symptoms may be life-threatening, it is important to have medical assistance available.

However, it is possible that you won’t need to be medically monitored during detox. You may only need supervision to make sure you don’t relapse before you have detoxed. The length of time you spend in detox depends on the substance you used, how much you used, and how long you have been using it.

In an inpatient or residential treatment program, you live in the treatment facility. The facility provides a safe, controlled environment with structured programs. Additionally, you have the benefit of 24-hour medical availability if necessary. For individuals with severe, long-term addiction and/or a co-existing mental health condition, this type of program is essential.

If an outpatient treatment program is determined to be a viable option for you, that means that you will continue to live at home and attend therapy sessions during the day or evening, depending on what the treatment center offers. There are several levels of outpatient programs that vary in intensity according to the amount of time required for treatment at the treatment center.

Oftentimes, outpatient programs are used as step-downs from higher levels of treatment. For example, you may complete a residential program and step down to an outpatient program to continue your care and increase your chance of long-term recovery. Outpatient programs are also typically less expensive than inpatient, which makes insurance companies more likely to cover them.

Many times, an individual has a mental issue that is fueling their substance abuse and vice versa. In these situations, it is important for both conditions to be treated at the same time, preferably by the same treatment team. These conditions feed off each other and failing to treat them simultaneously only serves to make both of them worse.

After completing a formal treatment program, you are not “cured.” You will need to continue therapy or self-help groups to help prevent a relapse. Or you may find that a sober living home works best for you if you don’t have stable housing or a suitable support network when you leave treatment.

Depending on the substance abused, you may need ongoing medication to help you maintain your sobriety. These medications help reduce cravings and help prevent a relapse.

Addiction specialists are dedicated to helping addicted people find effective treatment strategies. There is no one-size-fits-all cure for SUD, so you need a professionally structured program meant just for you if you want your best chance at recovery.

Substance abuse is an expensive problem. Depending on the substances being used, addiction can cost a person thousands of dollars a year. Your drug of choice may be relatively inexpensive, but the cost goes up as your tolerance increases. When you add in the associated costs such as attorney fees, fines, and lost work, the expense only increases.

As mentioned, substance abuse and mental health issues influence each other. Substances are often used to self-medicate a mental disorder. On the other hand, individuals addicted to drugs might develop mental health problems. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), 7.9 million adults have co-existing mental health and substance use disorders.

Children are more likely to become involved in some type of substance abuse if they grow up around adults who do drugs. The effects of drug abuse across generations can be prevented if the cycle is stopped by treating the parents’ SUD.