Insurance for Methadone Treatment

If you or a loved one is seeking methadone treatment, you likely have questions pertaining to insurance. You may be wondering whether a health insurance policy offers coverage for methadone treatment.

History

• Historically, health insurance policies have placed significant limitations on the extent of coverage for substance abuse issues, including for methadone treatment.

Cap

• A typical health insurance policy will place a cap on the amount of money that will be paid for substance abuse treatment, including methadone, during the course of any given year.

Inpatient

• Although methadone treatment is provided on both an outpatient and inpatient basis, a majority of insurance policies require that this treatment be provided on an inpatient basis for coverage.

Time Frame

• The length of inpatient methadone treatment differs from policy to policy--from a five-day period up to 28 days for an entire course of substance abuse treatment.

Co-Pay

• The typical health insurance policy requires a co-payment by the policyholder for methadone treatment. The typical co-pay obliges the policyholder to pay 20 percent of the cost of treatment up to a certain amount, which varies from policy to policy.