by Eric Fischer

Detoxification and rehabilitation are the two treatment categories of substance abuse. Detoxification is short term medical treatment to manage withdrawal symptoms and rehabilitation is longer term counseling and classes to help the individual to remain sober. There are five basic questions to ask in determining substance abuse benefits through your health insurance.

-Do I have substance abuse health insurance benefits? Under current law companies providing group health insurance are only required to cover treatment for alcoholism not for drug abuse. However, most large group plans have substance abuse treatment benefits. A basic policy will cover outpatient treatment but will not cover residential rehabilitation care. Some plans offer “riders”, or supplemental options- for an additional premium amount- to augment a basic policy. Check with your health insurance company.

-What is my deductible and has it been met? Most health insurance plans have a yearly deductible that must be met before benefits are paid out. These can range anywhere from $ 100 to $ 5000. Under the new healthcare reform, there can no longer be separate deductibles for substance abuse and medical/surgical services.  Check your plans schedule of benefits to determine the amount of your deductible and contact your insurance company to see how much of your deductible has been met.

-What is the coverage amount per visit? Each health insurance plan will have different coinsurance or co-pay amounts for outpatient rehabilitation. You will either pay coinsurance- usually 80/20 – or you will have a co-pay per visit. Many plans limited the number of outpatient rehab visits to 20 per year but healthcare reform eliminated those benefit limits. The elimination of these benefit limits allows greater access to needed treatment.

-Is approval required from my primary care physician? Many health insurance companies require you to see your primary care physician to get a referral for substance abuse rehab unless it is court ordered. Authorization is usually required before rehab can begin. Many healthcare plans required members to complete a rehab program before payment would be made on the charges. If you did not complete the program then you did not receive the benefits and were personally responsible for the charges. Healthcare reform does not allow this anymore. Charges are paid by the health insurance companies during treatment.

-What is the reimbursement policy for out-of-network providers? A majority of health insurance companies require you to see in-network providers and do not provide any benefits if you go out-of-network. This is the same for any type of medical treatment, as well. Health insurance companies try to keep costs down by having its members utilize their network.

Healthcare reform has changed many aspects of substance abuse rehabilitation by bringing it into the realm of medical care. Insurers who cover substance abuse treatment must do so at the same level of benefit they provide for other medical conditions. This should increase the number of people seeking the help they need.

Question by Evan: I NEED TO KNOW THE MONEY SPENT ON ALCOHOL REHABS YEARLY. RECENT AND RELIABLE PLZ.?
RECENT AND RELIABLE PLZ.

Best answer:

Answer by raysny
The most recent I could find for the US has the figures for 1997:

“A study shows that the U.S. spent a combined $ 11.9 billion on alcohol and drug abuse treatment, while the total social costs were more than $ 294 billion. The results were part of the National Estimates of Expenditures for Substance Abuse Treatment, 1997, which was released at the end of April by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s Center for Substance Abuse Treatment.

The report, prepared by the MEDSTAT Group for SAMHSA, examines how much is spent in the U.S. to treat alcohol and drug abuse, how that spending has changed between 1987 and 1997, how much of the spending is done by the private and public sectors, and how substance abuse expenditures compare to spending for mental health and other health conditions in the U.S.”
http://www.usmedicine.com/newsDetails.cfm?dailyID=54

In NY:
“States report spending $ 2.5 billion a year on treatment. States did not distinguish whether the treatment was for alcohol, illicit drug abuse or nicotine addiction. Of the $ 2.5 billion total, $ 695 million is spent through the departments of health and $ 633 million through the state substance abuse agencies. We believe that virtually all of these funds are spent on alcohol and illegal drug treatment.”
Source: National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, Shoveling Up: The Impact of Substance Abuse on State Budgets (New York, NY: CASA, Jan. 2001), p. 24.

States Waste Billions Dealing with Consequences of Addiction, CASA Study Says
May 28, 2009

The vast majority of the estimated $ 467.7 billion in substance-abuse related spending by governments on substance-abuse problems went to deal with the consequences of alcohol, tobacco and other drug use, not treatment and prevention, according to a new report from the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University.

The report, titled, “Shoveling Up II: The Impact of Substance Abuse on Federal, State and Local Budgets,” found that 95 percent of the $ 373.9 billion spent by the federal government and states went to paying for the societal and personal damage caused by alcohol and other drug use; the calculation included crime, health care costs, child abuse, domestic violence, homelessness and other consequences of tobacco, alcohol and illegal and prescription drug abuse and addiction.

Just 1.9 percent went to treatment and prevention, while 0.4 percent was spent on research, 1.4 percent went towards taxation and regulation, and 0.7 percent went to interdiction.

“Such upside-down-cake public policy is unconscionable,” said Joseph A. Califano, Jr., CASA’s founder and chairman. “It’s past time for this fiscal and human waste to end.”

CASA estimated that the federal government spent $ 238.2 billion on substance-abuse related issues in 2005, while states spent $ 135.8 billion and local governments spent $ 93.8 billion. The report said that 58 percent of spending was for health care and 13.1 percent on justice systems.

Researchers estimated that 11.2 percent of all federal and state government spending went towards alcohol, tobacco and other drug abuse and addictions and its consequences. The report said that Connecticut spent the most proportionately on prevention, treatment and research — $ 10.39 of every $ 100 spent on addiction issues — while New Hampshire spent the least — 22 cents.
http://www.jointogether.org/news/headlines/inthenews/2009/states-waste-billions-dealing.html

Key Findings

Of the $ 3.3 trillion total federal and state government spending, $ 373.9 billion –11.2 percent, more than one of every ten dollars– was spent on tobacco, alcohol and illegal and prescription drug abuse and addiction and its consequences.

The federal government spent $ 238.2 billion (9.6 percent of its budget) on substance abuse and addiction. If substance abuse and addiction were its own budget category at the federal level, it would rank sixth, behind social security, national defense, income security, Medicare and other health programs including the federal share of Medicaid.

State governments spent $ 135.8 billion (15.7 percent of their budgets) to deal with substance abuse and addiction, up from 13.3 percent in 1998. If substance abuse and addiction were its own state budget category, it would rank second behind spending on elementary and secondary education.

Local governments spent $ 93.8 billion on substance abuse and addiction (9 percent of their budgets), outstripping local spending for transportation and public welfare.¹

For every $ 100 spent by state governments on substance abuse and addiction, the average spent on prevention, treatment and research was $ 2.38; Connecticut spent the most, $ 10.39; New Hampshire spent the least, $ 0.22.

For every dollar the federal and state governments spent on prevention and treatment, they spent $ 59.83 shoveling up the consequences, despite a growing

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Alcohol was discovered many centuries ago, since then substance has been recognized as style statement by consuming in a gathering, as poison that killed and destroyed various people and families and also as the most harmful weapon that sweet biter but still addicts. Alcohol rehab centers are trying their best to eliminate and eradicate the bad habit from the patients. More over the other addictions which are claiming lives such as drug, cocaine, and heroin have also added with patients consuming alcohols. Patients are found with multi-addiction decreasing their span of life on the planet.

Therefore, various alcohol residential treatments providing inpatient treatment for substance abuse have been recognized by the rehab centers. Using the evidence based treatments and substance abuse therapies help the patient gain the will power to sustain the urges for addiction. Once the confidence get enhanced, the patients are able to eliminate the thoughts and minds set that habituate them for the alcohol. The therapies involved in the substance abuse are taken from the evidence based treatments to make the patients believe in the procedures. In evidence based therapies, the successful therapies are repeated in newly addicted patients.

Inpatient substance abuse has become the most effective treatment in this modernization era. Today, alcohol has become the symbol of modernization and weak mindset always gets acquainted with it. To be addicted no one needs any group or social circle, the day any person finds themselves mentally weak, the alcohol and other substances are the first to increase your urge to intoxicate. These malaise habits let the people get away from the beautiful life and involve themselves wrong habits that take away life one day. Therefore, when a person get treatment using inpatient treatment for substance abuse and evidence-based programs it maximizes the chances of quick recoveries by the patients.

This is helping various patients to get the fast and quick recoveries using the best therapies provided by the medical practitioners. Patients, who have tried various options to eradicate the alcohol, may find the rehab centers are providing best treatment programs. Curing the habit from mind by building strong repulsion techniques by the brain is used in the inpatient treatment for substance abuse for inpatient treatment for substance abuse by the patients. By counseling and making moral of the patient’s confident, helps medicines to work effectively. Therefore, alcohol treatment provided by the clinics offer unreliable results in very short span of time.

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Substance neglect is a pair of primarily critical healthcare problems all over the world. The two of them need inpatient alcohol and drugs rehab. Treatments for these complaints vary with respect to the law of gravity from the addiction. For this reason it is very crucial for you or possibly a cherished one to go for a good inpatient treatment center. Additionally, it’s every bit as essential for you to find a middle that meets your preferences. Though this is stressful, the tips in this specific written piece will aid you to pick the best inpatient rehab that is to be regarding assistance to one to handle addiction to alcohol consumption or even drugs.

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Duration of be in a great inpatient drug rehab alcohol and drugs detox heart differs from one center to a new. Period of stay is often as small as one week or even providing many months based on the gravitational forces in the dependency. It’s not advised to penetrate rehabilitation centers with small period of keep as it’s not only a time to handle issues. Pick middle together with long period which means you be taken care of for virtually any other situation that could show up during the managing dependency.

Place is another factor that you should take into consideration when searching for close to have an inpatient drug rehab heart. You have to make up your mind if you should be present in a middle that is certainly situated near to a person or even definitely not an individual. This can be a pronouncement in which solve these questions help to make. The heart outside the house the town might be perfect if you never ever desire virtually any diversion coming from members of the family and if you wish to actually pay attention to mastering dependency. However, if you believe that you will require the help associated with members of the family inside your attempt to give up habit, then it is strongly suggested to be able to uncover a new center that is certainly within the identical city while your own.

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