Does Insurance Pay for Sober Living? & Other Ways to Pay

An average day at a sober living home usually includes group breakfasts, lunches and dinners. Most homes have household meetings nightly, and residents often attend treatment, support group meetings or other wellness activities together. In addition to these rules, people who live in these types of houses usually have to work or go to school during the day and must contribute to the home by doing chores. You might be surprised that the prices are very comparable to the rent you would pay for an apartment.

The small beachside community of Costa Mesa alone (population about 113,000) has an estimated 160 sober-living homes and rehab facilities, half of them unlicensed, according to city officials. Many of the homes in question, privately owned and in nice residential areas, are unlicensed, unsupervised and nearly impossible to regulate. When residents’ or their parents’ cash or insurance money dries up, they’re dropped off in town and join the ranks of the homeless.

Your different financial options

If you or someone you love is struggling with drug or alcohol addiction, a recovery house may be the right solution. However, some people may need to go through detox or rehab before they can successfully live in a sober living home. Have you or a loved one sober house completed a substance abuse treatment program or detox? Private owners usually own these homes, but charities and businesses may also own sober living houses. If you live in a recovery house, you may either have your own room or share one with a roommate.

• To reiterate, a safe, stable, and supportive substance-free environment remains a key component in addiction recovery.
• Holding accountability for your actions helps to build strong character.
• The lack of regulation has led to the creation of homes that lack access to support services or strict rules.
• This helps ensure that everyone in the home remains sober and follows the rules.
• Thus, post-rehabilitation presents different difficulties for people seeking lasting recovery, as this transition period often requires a lot of learning, relearning, and unlearning.
• You’ll no longer be in a program monitored by medical professionals, or have any sort of formal accountability outside of individual therapy.

Typically, residents stay between three and twelve months, depending on their unique needs and future living situation. The Journal of Psychoactive Drugs found that the average stay was between 166 and 254 days. However, Psych Central suggests that the ideal length of time in long-term drug treatment is at least a year.

What It Is Like Living in a Sober House: A Complete Guide

You also want a sober living home that will help you learn how to live a sober, independent lifestyle. Staying in a sober living home means you never have to deal with roommates pressuring you into drinking or using drugs. Furthermore, moving into a sober living home means you never have to worry about whether your roommates have paid their share of the rent on time. Specific nuances of each rule depend on the sober living home or manager. As you’re searching for the environment that’s right for you, ask each potential recovery home what their rules are.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires insurance companies of all types to provide coverage for mental health treatment, which includes treatment for substance use disorders. While sober living homes are safe environments designed to help people recover from addiction in a supportive place, they are not treatment facilities. While some individuals may be able to cover the cost of sober living with their own funds, many others may need to seek out other options. Some health insurance plans may cover the cost of sober living as part of an addiction treatment program, while others may not.