How to Start Treatment

It depends on your level of care, how long you stay and what your plan covers, so there is no price list. Outpatient treatment is billed by level and by session, with no room and board, so it costs far less than residential care. Admissions verifies your benefits at no cost and explains your deductible or copay before anything is scheduled. Without insurance, ask about self-pay, or start with The Doorway NH (211) or the Massachusetts Substance Use Helpline (800-327-5050).

Most people pay far less than they fear, because insurance covers most of it. Federal parity law requires plans that cover addiction treatment to do so on terms comparable to medical care, and New Hampshire Medicaid and, depending on your plan, MassHealth cover it. Both states fund treatment for uninsured residents: dial 211 for The Doorway NH or call the Massachusetts Substance Use Helpline at (800) 327-5050. Whatever you have, call us and we will tell you where you stand.

In many cases, yes. Call during office hours, Monday to Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM, and admissions verifies your insurance in minutes and books a confidential assessment with a licensed clinician, often that day, at the office closer to you. Your first program day is usually within days of the assessment. If you call at night or on a weekend, a real person still answers and the assessment is usually the next business day.

No referral from a doctor is needed to call us or to have an assessment. Some insurance plans, usually HMOs, ask for a primary care referral or prior authorization before certain levels of care such as Day Treatment, and admissions checks that with your carrier and requests it for you. The confidential assessment and the benefits check are free and carry no obligation to begin treatment.

Bring a photo ID, your insurance card, a list of any medications you take and the name of any doctor or program you have seen recently. Because our programs are outpatient, there is nothing to pack: you go home after every session. Leave alcohol, drugs and anything you would not want in a clinical space at home, and wear whatever is comfortable. If you do not have every document, come anyway and we will sort out the rest.

Yes. A parent, partner, sibling or friend can make the first call, ask what insurance covers, and learn what a same-day assessment and a first day would look like. The assessment itself is with the person entering treatment, and nothing about their care is shared afterward without their written consent. Family education and support groups are part of treatment at both centers, so the call is also the start of your own support.

Medical detox is not provided on site at either of our centers. If your assessment shows you need it first, for example after heavy daily drinking or benzodiazepine dependence, we arrange it with a partner facility, or through The Doorway NH by dialing 211, and plan your first day with us for when it is complete. The partner facility bills your plan for the detox stay, and admissions helps you understand both pieces.

A licensed clinician decides with you at the assessment, using the ASAM criteria: your substance use, withdrawal risk, medical and mental health needs and how stable home is. In New Hampshire the options are Day Treatment (PHP), IOP by day or evening, and the Outpatient Program. In Massachusetts they are Day Treatment, Evening Treatment and the Outpatient Program. Medication-assisted treatment can run alongside any of them, and you can move up or down as things change.