How to Pay for Drug Rehab: Magellan Insurance
Magellan Health is among the largest healthcare companies in the United States, focusing specifically on substance abuse and behavioral health. Some policies are provided by the company alone, while others are offered through the company’s partnerships with more specialized providers. If you have Magellan insurance and are struggling with a substance use disorder, you’re probably wondering whether the company will cover the cost of treatment.
The Basics of Magellan Health Insurance
Magellan Health provides healthcare services specialized in behavioral healthcare, which covers everything from psychiatric disorders to substance abuse. Founded in Georgia in 1969, the former psychiatric hospital chain has now expanded to cover a great deal of the United States. In 1997, the company acquired another behavioral healthcare provider, Merit Behavioral Care Corporation. Today, more than 33 million people are covered through Magellan Health.
In comparison to other health insurance providers, Magellan’s focus on mental and behavioral healthcare is relatively rare. Because the company specializes in this area, it’s well-suited to providing care for substance abuse disorders that other insurance companies might let slip through the cracks. Additionally, Magellan partners with many mainstream healthcare providers to offer more specialized mental health services through their plans.
Addiction Resources Through Magellan Health
Magellan specializes in mental and behavioral healthcare, with one of their main areas of focus being a treatment for substance abuse. Unlike many other insurance companies, which include substance abuse treatment as an afterthought, Magellan has treated as a core focus.
To that end, Magellan is partnered with more than 77,000 mental health providers throughout the United States. Many of those providers are addiction counselors, mental health professionals specializing in addiction, detox centers, and rehab centers for drug and alcohol abuse.
On top of this, many programs are provided to help combat substance abuse. Some of these include:
- Programs specializing in drug treatment and education for children
- Early detection programs
- Behavioral health programs for co-occurring substance use and psychiatric disorders
- Employer assistance programs
- Employee assistance programs
- Educational documents and videos
Substance Abuse Policy Coverage
Like most health insurance providers, Magellan has several different plans to choose from. The specific treatment options covered will vary depending on the plan. Your particular plan will determine what you’re responsible for in terms of co-pays and deductibles. Besides, the amount of coverage provided for each service will vary. Any partnerships maintained with other healthcare providers can impact your coverage.
Magellan does have much more extensive substance abuse treatment coverage than many other providers. Because this is the company’s specialty, they have several different plans that can suit the needs of addicts from many different backgrounds and lifestyles. Some of the plans have a primary focus on substance abuse treatment. Others focus on overall mental health but stipulate that addiction treatment is an essential part of mental health treatment.
Do You Need to Get In-Network Treatment?
Typically, your health insurance policy will fit into one of three categories:
- Requires that customers only see in-network providers get coverage
- Offers financial incentives to choose in-network providers
- Has no requirements that a customer sees an in-network provider
As a general rule, if you opt for a plan with the freedom to choose any healthcare provider, you’ll be paying much more for your premiums than someone who uses only in-network coverage.
Inpatient Treatment Coverage
Magellan Health has a vast number of inpatient services they cover, though, as mentioned, the specific services and amount of coverage will vary depending on the plan. As a general rule, you can expect a typical plan to cover:
- Medically supervised detox programs
- Medications to treat addiction
- Stays in treatment centers
- Treatment for co-occurring mental disorders
- Therapy including individual therapy and group therapy
- Transitional care for moving from inpatient to an intensive outpatient-based setting
To get specific information regarding your plan’s costs, you can talk to a Magellan representative. You’ll typically be expected to meet co-pays and deductibles before getting insurance coverage. As a general rule, the more you pay in premiums per month, the lower your co-pays and deductible are likely to be.
Outpatient Treatment Coverage
There are many forms of outpatient treatment that range in intensity and setup. Outpatient care is done without a hospital or rehab facility stay, meaning that you sleep at home. Depending on the type of treatment, you may also be able to continue going to work and attending school during the process.
The services covered by your plan will vary, but the majority of plans will cover basic care, including:
- Outpatient monitored detox for drugs and alcohol
- Medications for addiction treatment
- Care and education regarding addiction recovery
- Individual counseling and therapy
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy and education regarding coping mechanisms
- Aftercare programs for transitioning from intensive care to a more standard outpatient setting
As with inpatient treatment, you’ll be expected to meet the threshold for co-pays and deductibles before Magellan will contribute to your addiction care. Outpatient treatment tends to be less expensive than inpatient, which might have an impact on how much you need to pay. To determine the costs of different levels of inpatient and outpatient care, you’ll need to discuss your particular plan with a Magellan representative.
Paying Costs Not Covered by Insurance
When you’re trying to provide for your family and make your rent or mortgage payment, the cost of rehab can be a significant obstacle. Many families struggle to overcome the financial burden, which leads to thousands upon thousands of people never getting access to the treatment they need. Health insurance lightens the burden of treatment, but it won’t typically cover the entire cost.
Treatment can be funded outside of insurance through a few different means. By using these ideas, you may be able to cover the costs of whatever services Magellan doesn’t cover or to cover the cost of your co-pays and deductibles. Regardless of how you choose to finance treatment, addiction is far more costly to your financial and emotional well being than seeking treatment is.
Some of the means that you can use to pay for your treatment include:
- Getting a loan or financing plan from a financial institution like a credit union or bank
- Taking out a secondary health insurance policy to cover the costs
- Seeing if you qualify for coverage through certain local, state, and federal government programs
- Selling your possessions and valuable property
- Setting up a fundraiser
Some Treatment Is Better Than None
It’s true that in an ideal world, everybody would be able to stay in inpatient care for as long as they needed and then slowly transition back into a healthy life. But for many individuals, this is a luxury they can’t afford. Even if an insurance policy covered every penny of treatment, many people can’t afford to take the extra time off work or school, especially if they have families to provide for.
Research shows that some addiction treatment is always better than none. Even if you don’t have the means to finance the perfect treatment plan, any treatment plan that allows you to begin learning coping skills and facing your addiction is vital.
