How Much Does Treatment Cost? Paying for Cornerstone of Recovery
If you have commercial or private health insurance, chances are we take it.
At Cornerstone of Recovery, we get it: Calling for help is a monumental accomplishment when you’re lost and afraid and so very tired of what your life has been reduced to because of alcohol and drugs. You haven’t had hope for a long time, and now that you’ve finally decided to seek treatment, the financial nuts and bolts of how to pay for it seems overwhelming.
Relax. We’ve got this.
Our Admissions team not only empathizes with you because many of them are in recovery themselves, they’re also professionals who have a lot of experience working with insurance companies so you don’t have to. From your initial phone call, we’ll determine your eligibility for coverage, what deductibles or co-pays your insurance plan might require and go over all of your treatment options. We’ll break everything down so that you understand exactly what will be covered and what won’t, ways that you can pay or set up a payment plan, and what the next step will be.
The best part: It costs absolutely nothing to call and find out how Cornerstone can help you. We’ll assess your needs over the phone, check your benefits and provide you with all of the information you need to make a decision about getting the help you need. Call one of our Admissions counselors today at 1-866-631-5209.
What Do You Need to Know?
Health insurance can be complicated. Getting help for a drug or alcohol problem shouldn’t be. We’ll do our best to answer some commonly asked questions about what insurance covers when it comes to drug and alcohol treatment.
Does my insurance plan cover residential treatment?
If you’re covered by commercial or private insurance, your plan likely includes coverage of behavioral health benefits in addition to physical health coverage. What that means is that those benefits cover, partially or the majority of, psychological and psychiatric care, like drug and alcohol rehab. You can check your plan for yourself – you’re looking for information on “mental health and substance abuse coverage” – or you can let us do it for you. Our Admissions staff will check your benefits, for free. All you need to do is call us and give us the details of your plan, and we’ll contact your insurance provider to navigate the details of what is covered and what isn’t. After we speak with them, usually in a short amount of time, we’ll get back in touch and go over how you can use your benefits at Cornerstone of Recovery, and what additional expenses you might expect.
What Happens When I Call?
You’ll be directed to one of our Admissions Counselors, each of whom has been doing this a long time – Cornerstone of Recovery has been helping addicts and alcoholics find a new way to live for more than 30 years, and the majority of our employees are in recovery themselves, so chances are you’ll be talking to someone who was once exactly where you’re at: scared, hopeless, frustrated and desperate. They don’t judge you, and they’ll take you through a quick (and free) process to get you the help you need.
- They’ll ask you some questions about what prompted your call, so they can determine the specific sort of help you’ll need and can recommend the programs that best meets those needs. They can also answer any questions you might have about Cornerstone, or direct you to information on our website than gives you a better idea of what we do and how we do it.
- The next step is an evaluation of your benefits. They’ll gather your information, then consult with your insurance company to figure out exactly what will be covered, and what sort of expenses you might expect, such as deductibles, co-pays and out-of-pocket costs.
- Before you hang up, you’ll know exactly what you can expect to pay. Your plan may require a deductible – the amount you have to pay up front before your insurance plan begins covering costs – and even if your deductible has been met, most commercial and private plans only pay a certain percentage of the cost.
- Financing: Just because you might have to pay doesn’t mean that you’re not eligible for treatment. Our team members will be able to discuss financing options, such as down payments and payment plans, so that you’re able to afford the help you need.
- In-network coverage: At Cornerstone of Recovery, we accept most commercial and private insurance policies, which means we’re in network with those plans. In-network coverage means that our facility has a contractual agreement with your insurance company for negotiated rates of care that are lower than care you might receive at a facility that does not have such an agreement. If Cornerstone is not in network with your insurance plan, it may mean that your out-of-pocket expenses, should you choose to come to Cornerstone, will be higher.
- Prior authorization: Before your insurance plan approves your treatment at Cornerstone, plan administrators must review the information you provide to ascertain medical necessity. In other words, we present you as a potential patient, give them the details of your problem, and they’ll then make a decision to authorize your treatment. This is generally quick and painless, and it’s something our Admissions Counselors do daily for all patients. What’s important is that you tell us everything that’s going on, including what and how much you’re using or drinking, so that we can ensure that you get the care you need.
- Treatment team review: In many cases, that prior authorization is limited, meaning that you’ll be approved for a certain amount of days, after which our clinical, medical and counseling staff evaluates your progress and submits that information to the insurance company, which will then made a decision whether to approve additional days of coverage. Again, this is something we at Cornerstone take care of, and because we’ve been doing this for a few years now, we leave no stone unturned to get you the as much treatment as possible.
Will My Insurance Company Approve a Full 30 Days of Treatment?
That depends on what your insurance plan administrators deem “medically necessary” – meaning that the information you provide when we obtain prior authorization, along with the thorough assessment of your physical and mental health during your Assessment screening, is submitted to your insurance company, along with our recommendation for the standard and length of care that our professional staff members believe is appropriate for the severity of your problem. We take care of communicating that need, we document it regularly with treatment team updates and evaluations, and ensure that you get as many days as your insurance company will provide in order to give you the broadest foundation of recovery as possible. It’s important to understand that different insurance providers have different standards of care for what is considered “medically necessary” treatment, and they may not always agree with our recommendations for your length of stay.
So What Do I Need To Do?
Absolutely nothing. We take care of all paperwork, communications and negotiations with your insurance company, so that you can concentrate on what’s most important: your recovery.
What About Out-of-Pocket Costs?
With any goods and services you purchase, the last thing you want is to get a bill with surprise expenses. Out-of-pocket costs are those not covered by your insurance company for which you’ll be responsible, and we’ll give you a detailed estimate of them all during your initial phone assessment. In addition, we’ll communicate with you, or your loved ones should you decide they need to make financial decisions while you’re in rehab, to update you or them on any changes or additional charges throughout the length of your stay.
What If Insurance Won’t Cover Treatment?
If your insurance plan doesn’t provide behavioral health benefits, or if those benefits are limited, to only certain parts of our treatment program (Medical Detox only, for example), you have some options.
- You can private pay. Our rates are extremely reasonable, and our financial team can work with you to set you up on a payment plan that is affordable for whatever your budget might be.
- We can look at other levels of care. Your insurance plan may pay for treatment, for example, but not room and board, which means you qualify for PHP rates – partial hospitalization, during which time you take part in all facets of treatment but live and commute from home, should you live locally. Because of COVID-19, and for those who don’t live in the East Tennessee area, we provide special PHP rates for living on campus. In addition, your insurance company may give you the option of doing Intensive Outpatient treatment, which means you attend groups, lectures, classes and therapy sessions for several hours a day, multiple times a week, while living at home or as part of our Sober Living community. Whatever your insurance program decides, we’ll do our best to get you the care you need to find a new way to live on the other side of a drug and alcohol problem.
This Is Stressing Me Out!
Hey, we get it! Deciding to get help for a drug or alcohol problem should be simple, but just like other forms of medical care you might need to improve your health, there are financial considerations that have to be taken into account. Doing that while you’re barely hanging on to your sanity, desperate to get help, isn’t easy … which is why we do everything in our power to make it as painless as possible on you. A lot of people don’t fully understand health insurance and what, exactly, it provides in the way of care until they need to use it, but it’s something we deal with daily. And we’ll go to great lengths to get you the care you need, using all of the benefits available to you.
Your greatest concern should be on getting better, and we’ve got the programs, the facilities and the staff members to help you do just that. Whether you’re considering coming to Cornerstone, or you’ve already made the decision to do so, know this: We’ll be by your side, every step of the way. And when it comes to navigating insurance, we urge you to let us do the work.
Remember: We’ve got this, and if you give us a chance, we’ve got you, as well.
Find out about your benefits by calling us at 865-685-4086
Cornerstone of Recovery
4726 Airport Hwy
Louisville , TN 37777
(865) 685-4086
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