Washington D.C. Affordable Healthcare Insurance Coverage
The residents of Washington, D.C. have many options when it comes to affordable health care for individuals and families. The Affordable Health Care Act help provide reliable health insurance to treat a substance abuse problem. Finding the right plan to fit your budget and specific needs is what the health exchange programs are all about.
BlueCross/BlueShield
In the Washington, D.C. area, BlueCross/BlueShield insurance is available through CareFirst. This company offers plans at each level and covers both in and outpatient care plans. The programs are presented as BlueChoice HMO and BluePreferred PPO.
At the Bronze level, BlueChoice HMO provides three plans – each one with a different deductible and monthly premium. The deductible is an important factor, because on two of the plans, you must meet the deductible before the company pays anything towards detox or rehab. So if you select the BlueChoice HMO HSA Bronze $6,550 plan, you must pay $6,550 towards your total yearly health care costs before BlueCross helps with inpatient or outpatient care. Both the $6,550 and the $6,000 plans are designed to work in conjunction with a health savings plan.
If you don’t have a health savings plan, BC/BS offers the HMO Standard Bronze program. This will pay towards treatments, whether you meet the deductible or not. You cover a $50 copay prior to fulfilling the deductible, but that copay goes away once you satisfy that total.
BlueCross offers similar plans at higher levels, but with lower deductibles and higher monthly premiums. The BlueChoice HMO Standard Silver 2,000 plan approaches drug rehab a little differently. You make a $500 copayment for each day of inpatient treatment until you meet the deductible of $2,000 and a $30 per visit copay for outpatient care.
For the other two Silver plans available in the Washington, D.C. area, you pay a 20 percent coinsurance payment after the deductible for inpatient service and a $25 dollar copay per visit for outpatient therapy.
The Gold and Platinum plans from BlueCross – there are six of them – all require you to make a per day copayment, from $200 to $600 depending on the plan, for inpatient treatment and a per visit copay around $25 to $30 for outpatient service.
KP DC
Kaiser offers Affordable Health Care plans to residents of the capital city. Some plans pay as much as 80% after the deductible for treatment. For example, the KP DC STD Silver plan requires a $25 copay per visit for outpatient care, as does the KP DC Bronze 5000/50/HSA platform. The copay ranges vary by plan, too. Some ask for $20 while others will require a $30 copay.
A few of the plans also have a per day copayment for inpatient care. For instance, KP DC STD Gold 500/50 asks for a $600 per day payment, but the KP DC STD Platinum plan requires only $250 per day. In general, for plans with STD in the title and higher deductibles you pay 20% after the deductible for inpatient treatment and a per visit copay for outpatient care. Those with low or no deductible require you to pay a per day copayment to inpatient facilities.
The good news is if you live in Washington, D.C., you have a lot of choices to make when purchasing affordable health care plans. The two providers in the area, BlueCross/BlueShield and Kaiser, do offer funding for drug detox and abuse treatment, so you can worry about other things like getting healthy.
