Obamacare and Drug Rehab: What You Should Know

Drug Addiction is a Disease

Under the Affordable Care Act, addictions are classified as diseases. They are eligible for services and plans must treat them like other diseases in terms of costs and services. This favorable treatment means that insurers cannot deny coverage to anyone based on addiction as a pre-existing condition

Drug Diagnosis and Treatment is a Benefit

The Affordable Care Act classifies an important set of services and essential benefits. These include early diagnosis and follow-up care. The idea is to treat these treatable diseases before they grow into much larger health problems. Among the essential health benefits is early detection of drug addiction and referral for treatment. The ACA requires qualified health plans to treat addiction like other diseases and this results in a significant amount of no-costs services.

Privacy Issues for Covered Adult Dependents

Affordable Care Act health plans require insurers to notify policy holders of any instance when they provide or deny services. These notices called EOB’s help policy holders track the value of services they receive from their health insurance. One serious issue for covered adult dependents occurs when insurers send EOB’s to parents or guardians that discuss sensitive medical situations. These include drug addiction, sexually transmitted diseases, and reproductive issues. Some persons might avoid treatment if that were the only way to preserve privacy. California and several other states have made rules and policies favoring greater privacy for covered adult dependents. This is an area of changing policies and practices across the US.

We Can Help Find Resources

Many healthcare providers offer a limited set of services for drug addiction. The long-term success of detoxification and treatment depends on matching the addict’s life situation with services that address the needs. When you or a loved one seeks treatment for addiction, call us; we can help. We work with a wide range of treatment services providers and we can match the needs of the addict and the addiction.

We Can Help You Find Success

We have a wide range of programs and resources for treatment of addictions to drugs or alcohol. The Affordable Care Act has added another important resource for detection and treatment of addictions. We understand both the nature of the addictions and the process for working with qualified health plans and service providers. We can help maximize the benefits of your network and out of network resources.