Building a Proper Foundation for your Sobriety

United Healthcare

Valley Vista provides high-quality care for drug and alcohol addiction and mental health care. Learn about coverage options for United Healthcare policyholders.

One possible barrier to people receiving life-saving addiction treatment is the potential costs involved. There are actually many ways to make rehab programs more affordable to ensure you get the quality care you need for a substance use disorder. Along with financing and flexible payment options, insurance coverage is one of the best ways to pay for the costs of addiction treatment.

Valley Vista is a United Healthcare drug rehab center. We are also in-network with many other major insurance companies in the country because we believe it’s critical to make care as accessible to as many people as possible.

Contact our inpatient drug rehab in Vermont today to learn more about how we can help with comprehensive addiction treatment care.

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Addiction is Treated as a Disease

Based on scientific and clinical research, addiction is a disease. The reason it’s considered a disease is because it involves complex changes in the brain. These changes affect your behavior, self-control, and ability to make rational decisions.

According to The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), addiction is a chronic, primary disease of brain reward, memory, motivation, and related circuitry. This disease is characterized by the inability to abstain from a substance, impairment in behavioral control, cravings, problems with behavior and relationships, and dysfunctional emotional responses.

There are key factors contributing to the classification of addiction as a disease, including:

  • Addiction is linked to significant changes in the brain that affect neural pathways and neurotransmitters. These biological brain changes contribute to the uncontrollable, compulsive nature of addiction.
  • There’s evidence suggesting genetic factors may increase the susceptibility to addiction. Some people could be more vulnerable to the development of substance addiction due to their genetic makeup.
  • Environmental factors like trauma, stress and substance exposure raise the risk of developing addiction. These environmental factors can then interact with genetic predispositions.
  • Another reason addiction is a disease is because it’s a chronic condition. It shares commonalities with other chronic diseases and requires ongoing treatment and management to prevent relapse.
  • People with addiction don’t have control over their drug or alcohol use even though there are adverse effects. The loss of control is a defining feature of the disease.
  • People with addiction experience strong cravings or compulsions to use, even if they’re aware of the negative consequences.

The understanding that addiction is a disease and should be treated as such has helped make insurers cover this treatment. If you’re searching for a United Healthcare drug rehab center, contact our team at Valley Vista. We provide evidence-based addiction treatment in Vermont and work with insurers to help people overcome addiction with quality care.

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Coverage Options

Using Insurance for Drug and Alcohol Rehab

Health insurance very often covers addiction treatment, but the specific coverage depends on the insurance plan and where you live. Some of the types of treatment services that may be covered by insurance include:

  • Inpatient rehab with around-the-clock care in an intensive, residential environment.
  • Outpatient treatment is where you can receive rehab services while living at home, including counseling and group therapy.
  • Medication-assisted treatment is when certain medicines are used to assist in treating addiction.
  • Counseling and therapy services, both individual and group, are usually covered, and help address the psychological elements of addiction.
  • Aftercare services such as ongoing therapy and follow-up care to maintain recovery may be covered.

The Affordable Care Act includes provisions that significantly expand mental health and rehab services coverage. These provisions aimed to improve treatment access and reduce the disparities in coverage between these services and other medical services.

The ACA requires plans in the individual and small group markets to cover ten essential benefits for health, including mental and addiction services.

There’s also the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act that the ACA built on. It requires benefits to treat addiction and substance use disorders to be comparable to medical and surgical benefits as far as the coverage levels and financial requirements like copays and deductibles.

If you have United Healthcare rehab coverage and you’re unsure of exactly what’s covered and what your out-of-pocket requirements might be, you can contact them directly, or we can help at Valley Vista.

United Healthcare Drug Rehab Coverage

United Healthcare is a major health insurer. They offer a range of types of plans, including individual and family plans, as well as employer-sponsored plans. The plans are organized into tiers based on the coverage value, and these can include:

  • A bronze plan will have the lowest premiums, but the out-of-pocket costs tend to be the highest. Around 60% of treatment costs are covered.
  • Silver plans have coverage of around 70%, and they’re balanced between moderate premiums and cost savings.
  • Gold plans usually offer coverage of around 80%, and they have higher premiums, but the out-of-pocket costs are lower.
  • Platinum plans can cover around 90% of treatment costs, with the highest premiums and the lowest out-of-pocket costs.

Your United Healthcare drug rehab coverage specifics can vary depending on your plan, the type of treatment necessary and the center you choose. If you’re unsure of anything dealing with your coverage, we can help at Valley Vista.

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Inpatient Drug Rehab

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Medical Detoxification

Using United Healthcare to Cover Rehab Services

If you are looking for a United Healthcare drug rehab center, a few things to note include:

  • You will need to verify your coverage, which our team at Valley Vista can do, or you can contact United Healthcare directly. They will tell you the details of your addiction treatment and mental health coverage, the specific types of treatment covered, limitations, and whether you need preauthorization. 
  • Choosing in-network treatment facilities with United Healthcare will help lower out-of-pocket costs.
  • Working closely with a treatment facility’s admissions staff can help you verify your coverage, submit claims, and navigate the entire authorization process.
  • The duration of coverage is usually determined by medical necessity. We will assess your treatment needs fully.

Valley Vista is one of the most trusted medical detox and drug and alcohol rehab centers in Vermont. Our services that may be covered if you’re seeking a United Healthcare drug rehab center include:

  • Medical detoxification: This level of care is a starting point for most people in their recovery journey. Our expert clinical staff provides monitoring and care as needed during medical detox to facilitate a more comfortable and safe withdrawal experience.
  • Residential inpatient: An intensive level of treatment, inpatient rehab at Valley Vista relies on a clinically focused and evidence-based approach to help you begin a sustainable recovery journey. Our programs are gender-specific, and we provide dual-diagnosis care for co-occurring psychiatric conditions.
  • Aftercare planning: This is a key part of treating addiction. We begin planning aftercare immediately for each person we work with, ensuring they have all the tools and resources needed for recovery.

If you’d like to learn more about our programs at Valley Vista, or you’re looking for a United Healthcare drug rehab center, contact us today.