If you’re facing the darkest hours in your struggle with drugs, you may realize that rehab is the only way to pull you out of your addiction. However, it’s not easy and rehab it expensive. If you have little money, or your family and friends can’t foot the bill, you may wonder if there’s any hope. There are ways to finance your rehab; you have to be creative in seeking them out.
Costs of Addiction
Substance abuse and addiction costs the United States nearly 600 billion dollars a year, according to the National Institutes of Drug Abuse. However, treatment for drug addiction has been proven to reduce associated health and social costs by much more than the treatment cost itself. In fact, treatment poses a much less expensive alternative to the incarceration of addicts. The National Institutes of Treatment says it costs just $4,700 per patient per year for methadone treatment in comparison to $24,000 per person per year for imprisonment.
Managing the Cost with Credit
That may be all well and good, but that doesn’t help patients who have to come up with the money for drug abuse treatment. While health insurance may cover a portion of the treatment, there is still a large portion of the bill that needs to be covered. Those who can afford to pay off the debt fairly quickly without paying excessive interest over time can finance their rehab through credit cards. If you have good credit, you may qualify for a card that touts 0 percent interest. But again, you’ll have to pay off the debt quickly to avoid the ensuing interest when the promotional period ends. You may also be able to use a health care credit card meant to cover only medical expenses. Many of these programs are geared toward those with no or poor credit histories. With this option, you can get the financing you need for your addiction recovery; but again, the interest can escalate quickly.
Taking Out a Loan
As when buying a car or home, you can take out a loan to pay for rehab. This shouldn’t be a problem if you have fairly good credit. Simply visit a bank or lending institution, sit down with a representative to fill out a loan application, and explore your options. Read the details, though, so you know exactly what the interest rates and repayment terms are. A fixed payment over variable loan may be best for you, as you will know exactly what you owe each month, allowing you to better plan once you get out of rehab. There are financial institutions that specialize in drug rehab financing, offering packages that are more affordable and are designed specifically to cover the costs of addiction treatment. Rather than make payments upfront, you can extend your repayment throughout the coming months and years for your peace of mind.
Public Funding
According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), 64 percent of substance abuse treatment spending comes from public sources. People looking to cover their costs for drug rehab may turn to grants, Medicaid (specifically for low-income single mothers, for example), Medicare (for those over 65), social security disability insurance, social services programs through U.S. Departments of Labor, Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the like, and fundraising by charitable organizations.
There are options available for people just like you or a loved one, who suffer from addiction and need help. You have to dig around a bit to come up with the financing for your drug rehabilitation.
Reggie O’Connor is a freelance writer based in Arlington, WA. Reggie strongly recommends Bay Area Recovery for people contemplating rehab in the bay area region of CA.
Image credit goes to marrinc.