United HealthCare For Addiction Treatment in California

UHC Coverage

United Healthcare is a large health insurance company that provides health insurance coverage to 49.4 million people in the United States.²

As a whole, United Healthcare provides health insurance plans across 4 different markets: the employer and individual/family plan market, the Medicare and retirement market, the community and state market, and global insurance market.²

Listed below are common types of plan offerings through UHC. Please note the plan you have may not be listed below. Call the number on the back of your insurance card to find out more about your specific health plan.

• Employer plans: An employer-sponsored health plan is one that your employer (or your spouse’s employer) offers you as a perk for working at the company.³ Approximately 157 million people in the United States receive health insurance coverage through their employer.³ Every employer is different and provides different insurance options, but some common types of plans include:
• UHC Choice Open Plan: UHC offers a variety of plans under its “Choice” label in its employer market. With a Choice plan, you can typically choose to receive care from network specialists or physicians without needing a referral from a primary care provider.⁴ Preventive care, office visits, diagnostic services (e.g., labs and X-rays), urgent care and emergency services, inpatient hospital, rehab, and mental health services are covered in some capacity under these types of plans.⁴ Out-of-network coverage is only provided in emergency situations.⁴
• UHC Choice Plus: UHC Choice Plus plans provide the same benefits as UHC Choice plans.⁵ In addition, you have coverage if you use out-of-network providers in situations outside of emergency situations.⁵
• UHC PPO: UHC Options PPO (preferred provider organization) plans allows you to choose your provider for care, but you may need to obtain prior approvals for certain care, regardless of whether they are in-network or out-of-network services.⁶ Services covered by these types of plans can include preventive care, office visits, diagnostic services, urgent care and emergency services, outpatient care services, prescription drug coverage, pregnancy and newborn care, rehab and skilled nursing facility services, wellness services, and mental health and substance use disorder services.⁶
• Medicaid plans: Depending on where you live in California, you may be able to purchase a Medicaid (Medi-Cal) or similar plan through UHC. Enter your ZIP code on UHC’s Medicaid page to see whether these types of plans are available to you and find out whether you’re eligible for this insurance type.⁷ Medicaid plans are generally only available to certain individuals, including low-income individuals and families, pregnant women, and children.⁷
• Medicare plans: UHC provides a variety of Medicare plans, including Medicare Advantage (Part C) plans, Medicare supplement (Medigap) plans, Medicare prescription drug (Part D) plans, and Dual Special Needs (D-SNP) plans.⁸
• Supplemental insurance: UHC offers a variety of different types of supplemental insurance policies, including dental insurance, vision insurance, critical illness insurance, hospitalization insurance, accident insurance, term life insurance, hospital and doctor fixed indemnity insurance, international travel insurance, and various insurance bundles.⁹

Does United HealthCare Cover Rehab in California?

Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), almost all health insurance providers in the United States are required to provide some level of coverage for mental health and substance use disorder treatment and services.¹⁰

What this means is that your UHC plan may be required to provide coverage in some capacity for rehab in California. If you intend to use your insurance plan, please note that you may have to receive care at an in-network facility. Use the benefits verification page to check your coverage details, or contact our admissions navigators via the helpline today for assistance.

Does United HealthCare Cover Inpatient Rehab in California?

Per the Affordable Care Act, inpatient services for mental health and substance use disorder, including drug and alcohol rehab, treatment must be covered in some capacity under almost all U.S. health plans.¹⁰

In an inpatient rehab program, patients receive treatment for their substance use disorder in a supportive environment and live at the facility full-time.¹¹  With your UHC plan, inpatient rehab treatment will be at least partially covered. Other treatment types, including medical detox and outpatient programs, may also be at least partially covered by your UHC plan.

Additional Types of Addiction Programs in California Covered by UHC

Depending on your situation, you may need to enter a specialized addiction program in California. Your UHC plan may provide coverage for various types of addiction programs, including the following:

• Couples treatment: If you’re in a relationship and you or your partner is struggling with addiction, you may want to consider entering a couples treatment program to address how substance use affects your relationship.¹²
• Rehab for Veterans: Approximately 11% of Veterans who seek VA services for the first time meet the criteria for being diagnosed with a substance use disorder.¹³ For Veterans or active servicemembers who struggle with SUD, getting a specialized treatment approach is essential.
• Aftercare: An aftercare program may be recommended for you to help you stay the course of recovery and could include sober living or attending group meetings.¹⁴

Be sure to call the number on the back of your insurance card or call our helpline today to find out whether your UHC plan would cover these types of programs.

Does United HealthCare Cover Mental Health in California?

Under the ACA, behavioral health treatment and substance use disorder treatment services, including multiple types of therapy, may be covered at some level by your UHC. Some common examples of therapy that may be used include:

• Cognitive-behavioral therapy.
• Contingency management.
• Dialectical behavioral therapy.
• Motivational interviewing.
• EMDR.
• Family therapy.
• REBT.
• Matrix model.

United Healthcare Rehab Facilities

Laguna Treatment Center, located in Aliso Viejo, California, is American Addiction Center’s renowned detox and residential treatment facility that may accept your UHC insurance. At Laguna Treatment Center, our primary mission is to deliver exceptional addiction care to individuals seeking long-term recovery from substance abuse.

Depending on your UHC health plan, you may also be able to receive treatment at the following renowned AAC facilities across the country:

• River Oaks Treatment Center (Florida)
• Recovery First Treatment Center (Florida)
• AdCare Treatment Centers (Massachusetts)
• AdCare Treatment Centers (Rhode Island)
• Oxford Treatment Center (Mississippi)
• Desert Hope Treatment Center (Nevada)
• Greenhouse Treatment Center (Texas)

Other Insurances That Cover Addiction Rehab

AAC is proud to work with a variety of other health insurance plans, including:

• Aetna.
• Ambetter.
• BlueCross Blue Shield.
• Cigna.
• Humana.

Other Options to Pay for Addiction Treatment in California

If you are unable to use your insurance to pay for addiction treatment in California or your insurance doesn’t fully cover the costs, there are various ways to finance drug and alcohol rehab in California.

If you are uninsured, you may be able to access ways to pay for treatment without insurance. Click here to learn more.

Finally, there may be state-funded programs and free rehab centers through which you can obtain free or low-cost addiction treatment in California.

Reach out to the admissions navigators today to learn more about how you can pay for treatment in California at .

1. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2019). 2019 state profile – California.
2. UnitedHealth Group. (n.d.). UnitedHealthcare: Health care coverage and benefits.
3. United HealthCare. (n.d.). Health insurance plans through work.
4. United HealthCare. (n.d.). Choice plans.
5. United HealthCare. (n.d.). Choice Plus plans.
6. United HealthCare. (n.d.). Options PPO plans.
7. United HealthCare. (n.d.). Medicaid.
8. United HealthCare. (n.d.). Medicare.
9. United HealthCare. (n.d.). Supplemental insurance.