Cocaine is a common recreational drug classified as a stimulant. It is a famous recreational drug, which can heighten your alertness, wakefulness, and energy level. Cocaine achieves this by flooding your brain with dopamine, which is a molecule involved in producing feelings of pleasure. Eventually, the drug produces a pleasurable high, which you will keep craving. Thus, you have to take more cocaine to experience more highs.
Because of these effects, cocaine can easily form addictive habits. Once you get addicted to the drug, you can no longer function normally without the drug. Even if you’re aware of the damage it does to your brain and body, you still cannot help but take more of it.
Long-term use of the drug may also affect your cognitive abilities, sleep, and memory. You could also suffer from slower reaction times, which can cause accidents if you’re driving. Additionally, chronic cocaine use puts you at a higher risk for diseases of the heart, lungs, and stomach.
Additionally, long-term use builds tolerance. That means you have to keep taking higher and higher doses of the drug to achieve the same effects as before. This can put you in danger of a life-threatening overdose.
Addiction to cocaine warrants therapy. Recovery programs have different parts, including detox, medications, behavioral therapies, and aftercare. Overall, the costs of each aspect of treatment can easily rack up. A full cocaine treatment program can run into tens of thousands of dollars.
The prohibitive cost of treatment often discourages cocaine abusers from seeking help. Even if they know they need treatment, they decide not to because they cannot afford it. In fact, according to national statistics, over 20 percent of individuals with substance use disorders do not receive treatment because of the price.
Thankfully, health insurance can cover a significant proportion of the cost of treatment. Most American citizens have a health insurance policy, and drug addiction treatment is covered. If you have health insurance, it will take away a huge slice out of your rehab costs.
Usually, health insurance covers cocaine rehab as well as other mental health treatments. However, the amount your insurance provider will cover depends on several factors. These include your insurance policy’s specific benefits, your rehab provider, and your treatment needs, among others.
How much of the cost of cocaine rehab is covered? Find out the answer to that and more questions below.
Does health insurance cover drug addiction treatment?
In general, health insurance plans cover mental health treatments, including cocaine rehab. The amount of coverage varies depending on your insurance policy. Most of the time, you will still have to pay a certain amount out of your own pocket.
Ask your insurance provider first before enrolling in a cocaine rehab program. That way, you will know what parts of treatments are covered by your insurance plan. You can also talk to the people working in rehab centers to give you a better idea of what’s covered.
What parts of rehab are covered?
Most aspects of drug rehab are covered by health insurance. These include:
Inpatient rehab- Outpatient care
- Medical detox
- Medication-assisted treatment (MAT)
- Dual diagnosis treatments
- Aftercare (e.g., counseling, therapy)
- Maintenance medications
The Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA)
In March 2010, the ACA, popularly known as Obamacare, was legislated. The law aimed to allow more people to have access to affordable health insurance.
One provision of the ACA is that health insurance providers cannot decline people with substance use disorders. In fact, the ACA includes substance use disorder in the 10 essential health benefits that must be provided by all health insurers. In other words, health insurance providers are required by law to cover drug addiction treatments.
Common healthcare plans
HMO (Health Maintenance Organization)
HMOs let you pick your preferred primary care doctor. If you need to see a specialist or physician outside of the HMO’s network, you will need a referral from your primary care doctor.
HMOs have more affordable premiums but lower deductibles; some may even have none. Overall coverage is often lower as well. Expect your copays to be relatively high, too.
PPO (Preferred Provider Organization)
PPO policies let you consult with doctors both in-network and out of network. No referrals are needed. But you will pay less if you visit an in-network doctor.
PPOs charge higher monthly premiums, lower copays, and higher deductibles than HMOs.
POS (Point of Sale)
POS plans and HMO plans are similar. The main difference is in specific cases, you can consult physicians who are out of network.
Different insurers have varying rules for POS policies. If you have one, check with your insurance provider first for the specific rules of your policy.
Coverage
Many insurance providers cover a significant part of the costs of cocaine rehab. How much your policy covers depends on your insurance provider. Most of the time, there will be an amount that you have to pay out of your own pocket.
In general, insurance plans cover addiction to any kind of drug, as well as the major parts of addiction treatment like detox, behavioral therapies, and medications.
Are medications included in insurance coverage?
Sometimes, your doctors in rehab might prescribe medications to help you cope with a new life without drugs. These medications are often used to relieve withdrawal symptoms or reduce cravings for cocaine.
Some medications help you maintain sobriety after your treatment program is complete. These medications help correct chemical imbalances in your brain created by cocaine. Without these medications, you may be at risk of a relapse, or a return to drug abuse.
These medications tend to cost a lot. Thankfully, they are also covered by health insurance. According to the National Alliance of Advocates for Buprenorphine Treatment, most health insurance policies cover maintenance medications for patients recovering from addictions to heroin and other similar substances.
Then again, different insurance providers vary in their rules of what is covered. It’s best to ask your insurer first to find out which rehab medications are covered under your policy.
