How to Use Insurance for Sober Living in New Jersey

When a person gets ill, injured or has a mental health emergency such as an addiction related crisis, they should first contact emergency medical services such as 911. If it's not a life threatening emergency, another step to take, besides contacting their PCP or a medical professional, is to speak to their insurance provider and ask what type of related services they cover. When it comes to addiction treatment, if you or someone you know has overdosed or potentially overdosed then call 911 immediately. If there is no inherent life threatening danger then another step is to look on the back of your insurance card and call the member (800) contact line. There a person can ask to be connected to mental health care information line or a representative that can advise on covered options. It may be the person who answered, whether it's them or a connected support representative you can next ask what type of mental health inpatient and/or outpatient services your plan covers. What are the out of pocket expenses and what is the length of time they will cover for these types of services or max benefit limit.

Now we are starting to gather information and resources. If you have a PPO insurance plan or "out of network coverage" it's likely your options for addiction treatment will be much broader and typically max benefits coverage also tends to be higher with these types of plans. 

_{"If you are fortunate enough to have a good private insurance plan such as PPO plan from a private insurance provider it is quite common that your provider will cover X amount of days for sober living."}

Next tell them what you're looking for and ask if they have a list of providers they work with in state and/or out of state. An addict may want to consider putting some distance in-between themselves and their using/drinking areas. It's often a helpful strategy to pre-emptively combat the urge to leave treatment early. For example, if a person lives in and uses drugs or alcohol in Florida, they may find it easier to "brainstorm" a reason to leave treatment early if they know they can exit the facility and take a bus to their drug dealers home. A beneficial example is if a person who lives in Florida is receiving in-patient addiction treatment in New Jersey, they likely don't know who or where to go to find drugs and the addict "brainstorm" will hold less weight. This isn't essential but it can be helpful. This is one reason why adults often send troubled teens to live out of state with grand parents or family members when they see behavioral problems brewing early on. It isn't full proof but often it can create physical separation long enough to let a healthier mental state develop.   

If you have state insurance such as medicaid, your options will likely be limited. In that scenario you will want to lean heavily on any state or county funded programs and rarely does an insurance plan like medicaid cover any days of sober living. Along with speaking to your state insurance provider directly, also do a few google searches for free addiction treatment programs in your state. Sometimes churches and/or charities such as the Volunteers of America offer free programs for addicts/alcoholics.

If you are fortunate enough to have a good private insurance plan such as PPO plan from a private insurance provider it is quite common that your provider will cover X amount of days for sober living. It isn't a stock default feature for all PPO plans but it is fairly common. you should ask them how many days they cover in sober living and what limitations the have on that type of coverage. likewise, call the sober living you are interested in going to and ask if they can contact your insurance provider for you. The latter is probably the easiest route as most sober livings, such as New Jersey Sober Living, have trained employees who are trained to speak with insurance providers and are familiar with the benefits and optionality that many may provide and you can call us now at (973) 637-6626 to find out.

_{"Stay strong and know you are not alone, and that these hopeless feelings are not permanent and these too shall pass."}