Paying for Teen Drug Rehab

Table of Contents
Cost of Treatment
Payment Options
Health Insurance
Other Ways to Pay

Paying for teen drug rehab is one of the biggest stressors for parents seeking treatment for their children. At first glance, the cost of a comprehensive medical and psychological teen drug addiction treatment program can seem overwhelming – just like any medical bill. The good news is that there are a number of resources available to you to assist with the cost of treatment. Few parents pay the full bill out of their own pocket.

The Financial Fallout of Teen Drug Addiction

When a teenager is addicted to drugs, the entire family feels the impact. Nowhere is this truer than in the family finances. In some cases, the teen may gain access to his or her savings account/inheritance. If so, the combination of access and addiction can lead to a looting of savings account that can be devastating. There is also a considerable amount of stress on the parents of teen addicts – which may grow so serious that they have to leave their jobs in order to deal with the problems in the home environment. In these situations, teen drug addiction has a very real impact on the family’s financial stability.

Cost of Teen Drug Treatment Programs

The cost of teen drug rehab varies according to the type of program in question as well as the location of the center. Some of the most high-end residential treatment centers can cost several thousand dollars per month to attend. Even outpatient care – which costs only a fraction of their residential counterparts – may be out of reach of some families in need of addiction treatment.

What Are Your Payment Options?

Below are listed a few of your options for paying for teen drug rehab. If you are uncertain which plan works best for you, contact us at Newport Academy today.

There are a number of different resources that parents can tap in order to find the funds to pay for teen drug rehab. Among them are:

Savings
Family and close friends
Insurance
Financing

Health Insurance that Covers Rehab Costs

Even if you have health insurance coverage and you live in a state that requires your health insurance provider to cover the costs of teen drug rehab, it’s often difficult to get your teen drug rehab insurance coverage to pay for claims. Why? Money, of course. The burden is often on you to prove that your teen requires teen drug rehab. There are a number of ways to do this. Here are three reasons your teen drug rehab insurance provider will most likely cover your insurance claim.

Physical Addiction

If your child is living with a physical heroin addiction, cocaine addiction, marijuana addiction, alcohol addiction, crystal meth addiction or prescription drug addiction that requires drug detox, you should not have a problem getting your teen drug rehab insurance to at least cover that part of treatment. Though it is not a complete drug rehab program by any stretch, drug detox is the first step toward recovery from drug addiction from your teen and will most likely require medication and an inpatient stay for a week or more depending upon the level of addiction. Because physical detox is a finite medical treatment, there is little for most teen drug rehab insurance companies to argue with in terms of paying the insurance claim.

Imminent Health Threat

If your child’s use of drugs is putting them in danger of an imminent health threat that will require extensive medical treatment and you can show that to your health insurance provider, they may be more likely to cover teen drug rehab. Blood tests and/ or other medical tests that show results that indicate the potential of a chronic health issue will send a clear message to the health insurance provider: treat this now or spend 10 times as much later.

Chronic Underlying Medical or Psychological Disorder

If your teen is already diagnosed with a chronic illness, either medical or psychological, and that illness is being exacerbated by continued drug and alcohol abuse and addiction, then your health insurance provider may cover all or part of the cost of teen drug rehab. A diagnosis of attention deficit disorder, anxiety, depression, eating disorders and other issues in addition to drug addiction will mean that your child will need a dual diagnosis teen rehab that provides treatment for both issues simultaneously. If your child has a chronic medical illness that flares up more often due to your child’s drug abuse, you will need a teen drug rehab that provides concurrent medical care or medical monitoring to ensure that your child is safe, especially if drug detox is necessary to treat a physical addiction.

Other Ways to pay for Rehab

Few parents have enough money in the bank to pay for treatment upfront, and in many cases, tapping retirement savings or college funds for treatment isn’t the best financial option due to fees and penalties for early withdrawal. In some cases, concerned family members and friends may offer finances or agree to a borrowing plan if you need help covering the cost of care upfront. Either way, health insurance coverage is the best place to start because both the medical care and psychological therapies provided may be covered, at least in part, by the policy you have for your teen. For whatever remains after you have exercised these options, financings is always a viable resource to help you pay the remaining portion of the bill for treatment.

Liquidating your Assets to Pay for Your Teen’s Treatment

You don’t have to be rich or have easy access to liquid resources to pay for treatment. Many parents have invested well, putting away cash to pay for retirement and college well in advance. If your teen is struggling with school, has dropped out or been expelled due to drug abuse and addiction, it may be a wise use of college fund to put the money saved toward the cost of treatment. If your child succeeds at teen drug rehab, he or she may have a shot at getting their education goals back together in time to get a high school degree or GED, and go to community college or a nearby state school for the first couple of years before transferring into another school if desired. If your child doesn’t get treatment help and drug addiction continues, college is an unlikely course for their future.

Financing Your Teen’s Rehab Program

Financing allows parents to borrow the money they need to cover the cost of teen drug rehab and pay it back at a pace that is convenient to their budget. Low-interest loans, no-interest loans, secured loans and unsecured loans are all available, as are repayment periods of up to 30 years.

Private financing for teen addiction treatment programs is a growing movement among rehab centers across the United States. It works like this: teen drug rehab centers partner with private lenders to spread out the cost of treatment over a longer stretch of time – thus easing the financial burden on the family. While this does not eradicate the cost itself, it does give families a chance to obtain top-flight treatment for the child while they regain their financial footing.