United Healthcare Coverage for Addiction Treatment at Coastal Detox

united healthcare

Throughout the United States, we have been experiencing a shift in insurance coverage due to the more recent changes in health insurance. Due to those changes insurance companies have had to make changes or expansions to their own plans or policies. Including a well-known insurance company, UnitedHealthcare. However, that does leave many questions for everyone. Including those that have hit a bump in the road due to substance abuse disorders or addiction and whether or not addiction treatment detox and treatment centers will be covered. 

UnitedHealthcare like many other insurance companies work with us here at Coastal Detox. Policyholders may be confused and frustrated by understanding their insurance plan and its coverage for addiction treatment centers including detox. Maybe you or your loved one have even contacted your insurance provider but felt you were left dumbfounded by the influx of information and still not understanding the length you were able to stay or amount you will pay out of pocket to attend an addiction treatment detox or short term/long term center.

Allow our professionals at Coastal Detox to help you with this sometimes difficult process. We will be more than happy to do so and to help sort out your insurance plan and understand what is or is not covered within your insurance policy with UnitedHealthcare. 

UnitedHealthcare

Although these health care changes have been beneficial to some and costly to others they have widened the insurance coverage for mental and behavioral health care. UnitedHealthcare is one of those insurance companies to expand their insurance benefits. UnitedHealthcare has expanded its Behavioral Health Benefits within plans and policies for its insurance policyholders. This means that insurance policyholders have some sort of coverage for mental and behavioral health care and addiction treatment including detox.  

Currently, UnitedHealthcare works with more than 1.3 million health care professionals. To further their numbers over 6,000 facilities and hospitals fall under their network.  UnitedHealthcare is a branch of the UnitedHealthcare Group alongside Optum. As a whole, they are able to provide insurance benefits to millions of people across the United States as well as 130 other countries. 

UnitedHealthcare provides insurance benefits with the mission to strive towards helping people live better and healthier lives. Also pushing towards making the health care system work for everyone through technology, better treatments, and more affordability. Although UnitedHealth Group thinks globally, UnitedHealthcare believes in serving each and every community for the health of the nation.

Insurance & Policies

UnitedHealthcare provides a large number of various insurance policies spanning from individual plans to national accounts for businesses. With that being said, not only are there so many ways to attain an insurance policy through UnitedHealthcare there are also a plethora of policies beneath each way of attainment. Not including how they may change within each state because of the regulations or laws each state has. 

UnitedHealthcare Insurance (Some):

  • Medicare & Medicaid
  • Dental
  • Short term
  • Term life
  • International & Travel
  • Supplemental
  • Self-employed
  • Dual Eligible Special Needs
  • Individual & Family
  • Small/Large/National Employer

While offering such a large choice in insurance policies they also provide useful tools within their website or within their application for mobile phones. These tools are offered at no cost, including a link for their Substance Use Helpline and a useful fact column describing substance use disorder and signs of treatment needed. Adjacent to are facts about the helpline itself. 

UnitedHealthcare offers all of these important resources dedicated to prevention and understanding substance use disorders and addiction treatment programs including detox and short term/long term treatment. Their insurance policies or plans provide in all levels from business to individual and even short term health insurance that covers behavioral and mental health coverage. 

Addiction Treatment Insurance Coverage 

As mentioned above, UnitedHealthcare provides a Substance Use Hotline that is available every day at any hour. Through their webpage, they provide many informative articles that are able to explain an array of options and preventative care choices for addiction treatment.

Within UnitedHealthcare group insurance plans or employer health plans or policies, there are several choices. As for the medical plans listed, there are two open access and one Preferred Provider Organization, also known as PPO. All three cover mental health and substance use disorders, outpatient addiction treatment care services, and preventative health care services including many other insurance benefits. 

Within the open access are UnitedHealthcare Choice and Choice Plus each boast of fixed dollar copay, coinsurance options, and a lower cost with using services within their network. Their insurance network, however, does have over 895,000 health care professionals and over 5,600 in plan and approved hospitals. They also have a pocket limit. So once an insurance policyholder has reached a certain amount while paying their own money the provider then steps in to cover the rest.  

Meaning that when searching for addiction treatment options like detox, there is almost certain to be covered for an addiction treatment clinic within UnitedHealthcare’s network. There also should not be fear of breaking the bank as long as the deductible is within grasp of attainment. Even if the insurance policyholder fears that they will be spending too much of their own cash there is a cap that is in place where UnitedHealthcare will then step in to cover outstanding costs. 

UnitedHealthcare’s third option, UnitedHealthcare Options, is its PPO insurance option. This also comes along with a copay, coinsurance, and deductibles but allows for a larger choice in healthcare providers. There are two-level options within this insurance policy. There is a higher level in which the insurance benefits go towards all network services and the low level which has insurance benefits that apply to those, not within the network and a higher deductible. When seeking specialists the primary care doctor is not required for approval. 

UnitedHealthcare Options allows for a larger choice in both network and out-of-network for its insurance policyholders. Thus meaning for those seeking addiction treatment that they have a larger variety of choices to choose from. Though, providers that are not in UnitedHealthcare’s insurance network can be more costly than those that are. 

Short Term Health Insurance Policies

Although health insurance is required not everyone is able to or decides to apply for health insurance within the open enrollment period. Essentially meaning that for those insurance companies that offer short term health insurance policies those, that for whatever reason, do not have insurance coverage are able to gain some form of health insurance coverage. 

UnitedHealthcare does offer short term health insurance coverage. This means that people that are seeking addiction treatment like detox and/or short term/long term treatment are able to apply for a short term health insurance plan with UnitedHealthcare. Like all health insurance plans or policies, the benefits can range from state to state. 

The medical professionals here at Coastal Detox are located within the gorgeous state of Florida. Florida UnitedHealthcare does offer insurance coverage for addiction treatment within some of their short term insurance policies. With their short term insurance plans there is no coverage for out-of-network healthcare providers. Only healthcare providers within their network will be covered by some of their insurance policies.

Importantly, we recommend getting in touch with our staff here at Coastal Detox to better understand insurance policies and their healthcare coverage. 

Pre-Approval Through United Healthcare

UnitedHealthcare insurance does not always need a primary care doctor to refer it’s policyholders to a specialist dependent upon the type of insurance policy. They do generally need approval for some healthcare services. In these instances, the insurance policyholders should go over their healthcare plan, speak to their insurance agent, or contact those that understand what their insurance policy holds. 

The medical professionals here at Coastal Detox are trained within the field of addiction treatment including detox and short term/long term treatment. We are able to help any insurance policyholder or family members of the policyholder and help to sort out what healthcare benefits are offered within the insurance policy or plan. Taking away the burden of doing so themselves in what can already be a very difficult and stressful time. 

Types of Treatment Covered by UnitedHealthcare

Inpatient, Outpatient, & Detox Addiction Treatment

Substance use or addiction treatment falls beneath the same category as mental health. Each is provided with UnitedHealthcare’s benefit of behavioral health care.  Every health insurance policy has stipulations whether that be due to state law or regulation or even the insurance company itself. UnitedHealthcare has outlined that within their insurance policies there is coverage for addiction treatment centers and mental health care. 

As mentioned previously, UnitedHealthcare does provide insurance health benefits that support addiction treatment. The insurance policies themselves will be different, covering more or less in certain areas of health. The insurance policies that offer the most healthcare coverage will generally be PPO policies. They will allow for more diversity in where insurance policyholders are able to visit for addiction treatment. However, with their widespread healthcare network insurance policyholders should be able to find many addiction treatment centers including detox and short term/long term treatment that do accept their insurance policies regardless of being PPO or not. 

Not everyone is able to or chooses to have full healthcare insurance coverage. However, there will be some form of insurance coverage with UnitedHealthcare insurance policies. UnitedHealthcare does offer supplemental insurance to cover any gaps within an insurance policy lacking needed coverage. 

Thus meaning that those seeking addiction or substance use disorder treatment will have access to inpatient, outpatient, and detox treatment centers. Especially within their large healthcare network which covers more costs than those not within their healthcare network.

United Healthcare Insurance Coverage for Mental Health Treatment

UnitedHealthcare believes in the treatment of the physical but also the mental aspect of a person. Those that need to seek treatment for addiction or substance abuse may have begun their spiral due to mental health. In other instances, they have found that due to their substance use they have developed a form of mental illness. Both are able to be treated by medical professionals within UnitedHealthcare’s insurance network of hospitals and medical and healthcare professionals.

When both a mental health disorder and a substance use disorder occur simultaneously they are then known as co-occurring disorders (dual diagnosis). Co-occurring disorders are their own category of healthcare treatment which IS able to be treated. UnitedHealthcare insurance is able to help with the costs and finding help for those individuals.  

Coastal Detox

UnitedHealthcare insurance offers various healthcare benefits within its insurance policies and understanding those healthcare benefits is key. Knowing what is covered, how much is covered, the cost paid from the healthcare provider, and the length of time allocated within an addiction treatment center like detox or short term/long term treatment is essential to getting onto the right path. 

The medical professionals here at Coastal Detox want to help push you or your loved one forward into the next step of addiction and mental health recovery. Our staff, trained medically and technically, are here to provide the best form of service from understanding insurance policies to getting the right treatment for addiction recovery needed. Don’t wait another day to contact us here at Coastal Detox at 1-877-978-3125. 

References

https://www.healthcare.gov/coverage/what-marketplace-plans-cover/

https://www.uhone.com/FileHandler.ashx?FileName=45809E-G201910.pdf (Archived)

https://www.uhc.com/content/dam/uhcdotcom/en/AboutUs/PDF/2019_Q1-FactBook_SinglePage.pdf (Archived)

https://www.unitedhealthgroup.com/about/history.html