COBRA Addiction Treatment

Dealing with an addiction can diminish your quality of life dramatically. However, with the high cost of addiction treatment, many people are unable to get the help they need without insurance coverage. Fortunately, even if you have recently lost your insurance coverage, the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, or COBRA, may provide you the opportunity to continue your coverage temporarily and enroll in an addiction treatment program.

About COBRA

COBRA was passed in 2009 in order to provide continuing coverage to individuals who lose their insurance because of a qualifying event, such as the loss of a job or a reduction in the number of hours you are working. If you qualify for continuing coverage under COBRA, you will continue to receive the same health insurance benefits you had prior to your loss of coverage for up to 36 months. However, to maintain coverage under COBRA, you may be required to pay a higher premium than you were paying before you lost your insurance.

Estimating COBRA Addiction Recovery Expenses

COBRA Addiction Recovery benefits will vary depending on the type of plan you had before you began receiving coverage under COBRA. Characteristics of your plan that may affect the amount of COBRA addiction recovery benefits you receive include:

• Type of Policy - The type of policy you had before requesting COBRA coverage will affect your COBRA addiction recovery benefits. For example, if you have a policy with a Preferred Provider Network, receiving services from providers outside of this network may increase the cost of treatment. If you have an HMO policy, on the other hand, out-of-network addiction treatment may not be covered at all. 
• Deductible - Your deductible is the amount you must pay toward healthcare expenses before COBRA addiction recovery benefits will begin. This amount will be the same as it was on your original policy.
• Copay Requirements - Some services, such as visits to addiction specialists, may require you to pay a flat fee at the time of service.
• Coinsurance - After you have met your annual deductible, you may be required to pay coinsurance, which is a set percentage of your addiction treatment expenses.

Insurance plans vary considerably by provider, location and plan type. To learn about the provisions of your policy and get a more accurate estimate of your COBRA addiction recovery benefits, read your plan documents or contact the insurance agency directly.