Aetna Coverage for Drug and Alcohol Detox & Addiction Treatment

First established in 1850, the Aetna brand is known for delivering quality protection and services. If you have Aetna coverage and struggle with drugs or alcohol, you’ll likely be able to use your existing plan to help offset the costs of detox and addiction treatment.

Considering how substance abuse problems tend to drain financial resources, the cost of detox is easily one of the greatest deterrents to getting help. While most health insurance providers require you to pay out-of-pocket costs, a good health plan can pick up a large chunk of your overall costs.

Ultimately, the type of Aetna plan you have determines what’s covered and what isn’t. The good news is current health insurance laws require all plan types to cover detox and addiction treatment at the same rate as any other form of medical care.

Does Aetna Cover Drug & Alcohol Detox?

Aetna will cover at least part of your drug and alcohol detox.

Stopping drug or alcohol use brings on a range of physical and emotional problems that can easily derail efforts to maintain continued abstinence. In the absence of some form of treatment, the odds of making it through the detox stage are slim, especially if you’ve already tried to stop using on your own.

Not unlike the type of care required to treat illness and injuries, symptoms of drug or alcohol withdrawal require some kind of medical treatment. Aetna health plans include coverage for detox treatment care.

Aetna health plans cover the following types of treatment services:

• Medical detox from 5-14 days.
• Inpatient detox from 14-28 days.
• Outpatient detox that can last several weeks or months
• Treatment for medical problems resulting from substance abuse, such as cirrhosis and malnutrition
• Medication-assisted treatment, such as methadone and Suboxone

Aetna Coverage for Drug & Alcohol Rehab

While enrolling in a detox program is important, ensuring the level of support needed to maintain a drug-free lifestyle after graduating the program is critical to making any real progress in recovery. As with addressing any other chronic health problem, combatting drug or alcohol addiction happens in stages with detox being the first phase in the recovery process.

Fortunately, today’s healthcare laws require all marketplace insurers to provide the same level of care for substance abuse treatment as they would for any other medical health condition or surgical procedure. In turn, Aetna health plans offer a range of benefits that cover portions of your treatment costs throughout recovery.

Rehab services covered by Aetna plan benefits include:

• Residential treatment
• Outpatient treatment
• Individual psychotherapy
• Group therapies
• Intensive outpatient treatment

Contact Detox now to find rehab centers covered by your Aetna health insurance!

800-996-6135

Sponsored

How Long Will Aetna Cover Detox Services?

As a general rule, your Aetna plan covers detox services for as long as you need them as long as the treatment services received are considered essential health benefits. With today’s healthcare laws, marketplace providers can no longer set yearly or lifetime caps on services that provide an essential health benefit; however, your out-of-pocket costs may fluctuate if you require intensive or long-term detox care, such as with an inpatient or residential-based program.

Aetna offers different health plans, which vary in benefit types, coverage amounts and out-of-pocket costs. Plan types also assign different cost measures for In-Network vs Out-of-Network providers. Each of these factors can have a bearing on your out-of-pocket costs over time.

Does Aetna Provide Coverage for Luxury Detox & Other Non-Essential Benefits?

Luxury detox programs typically offer lush accommodations and many also use alternative treatment approaches. Alternative treatment interventions may take the form of:

• Gourmet cuisine
• Saunas
• Equine therapy
• Massage
• Energy-based therapies

While effective, these types of interventions might not qualify as essential health benefits that don’t have caps. Ultimately, your treatment provider would have to justify a need for these features for Aetna to cover a luxury detox program or any other type of non-essential benefit. Nevertheless, it never hurts to ask questions since some luxury-based programs may actually be covered under your health insurance plan.

How to Cover the Excess Costs of Detox NOT Covered by Insurance?

While Aetna health plans can cover a large portion of detox treatment costs, out-of-pocket costs, such as copayments, deductibles and other policy conditions must still be paid for your benefits to kick-in. Bear in mind that these costs may be minimal compared to your total treatment costs, but finding the money to cover them can be a challenge.

Fortunately, there are ways to cover excess costs. Some options include:

• Detox program grant and scholarship opportunities
• Bank loans
• Sliding-fee scale options offered by the treatment provider
• Payment arrangement options