Why Drug Rehabs Lose Admissions
Drug rehabs need more help in running this much-needed service. Running a drug and alcohol addiction treatment center is no easy task. Generating new clients is one of the most challenging things to achieve. Marketing is one of the most significant investments for any substance abuse rehabilitation center. However, just generating the lead is not enough for drug rehab owners.
Why is Drug and Alcohol Addiction Treatment Needed at All?
The United States is in rough shape with drug and alcohol addiction. Estimates show that 20 – 21 million people suffer from drug and alcohol abuse. Combine this with the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, and the numbers have jumped dramatically. The number of suicides has also increased drastically over the past two years.
With so many people suffering from drug and alcohol addiction, you think all the addiction treatment centers would be at capacity. However, this is not the case. Just because someone is suffering from drug and alcohol addiction does not mean they’re reaching out for help. Our society has done a poor job of allowing these people to seek help without the shame associated with addiction.
Drug and alcohol addiction is present at all levels of our society. Each demographic, lower, upper, and middle class, have their problems with drug and alcohol addiction. Addiction is present in teens, individuals in their 20’s, women in their 30’s, men in their 40’s, and more. One thing for sure is that drug and alcohol addiction treatment centers need to educate the public and do their part to combat the stigma associated with seeking help.
How Drug Rehabs Get Clients
The drug and alcohol addiction treatment industry is big business. The industry generates about $35 billion per year. Drug rehabs have much competition to get new clients in an industry of this size. There are only a few different ways that treatment centers generate new clients. Below you will find several other marketing methods treatment centers use.
- Drug Rehab SEO
- Google Ads / PPC
- Outreach/Networking
- Facebook Paid Marketing
A handful of players spend about $500,000 monthly on marketing and advertising. This considerable expense means the small to medium players cannot compete with Google Ads and PPC. Having a lower marketing budget leaves them with two alternatives: A “boots on the ground” outreach and networking approach or drug rehab SEO. No matter what path you take, getting new clients is an expensive venture. Estimates show that a treatment center will spend between $3,000 and $8,000 to obtain a single client.
The Admissions Process for Drug and Alcohol Addiction Treatment Centers
Treatment center owners must know about substance abuse billing when admitting clients. The outreach position in the drug and alcohol addiction or treatment industry is among the most difficult. There is extreme pressure on these individuals to enroll clients in their particular programs. Most of the outreach calls are addressed by these professionals. They’re required to assess what the individual needs for drug and alcohol addiction treatment based on the severity of the patient’s symptoms. This assessment could mean several different levels of care. Some of the treatment levels of care include the following.
- Alcohol Detox
- Opiate Drug Detox
- Residential Inpatient
- Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP)
- Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP)
- Outpatient Treatment (OP)
A psychological and social assessment is made to determine the level of substance abuse rehabilitation needed. Once an individual is assessed, the outreach person must look at their insurance. Obtaining correct insurance benefits is difficult for all drug and alcohol addiction treatment centers. However, it is necessary, and these centers cannot operate without being reimbursed by insurance companies.
Drug Rehab Owners Can’t Guess on Getting Paid by the Insurance Companies
Drug rehab owners must pay attention to their medical billing revenue cycle management. This is a critical fact for any rehabilitation center. Drug rehabs need operating cash to keep their doors open and to continue to help individuals struggling with addiction. It costs a lot every month to maintain a drug rehabilitation facility.
It will be detrimental when a drug rehab owner ignores their revenue cycle denial management. Once their outreach admits someone, they must be sure of several different things.
- Does the drug and alcohol addiction treatment center accept the patient’s health insurance?
- At what rate will the health insurance pay for that individual’s service?
- When will the treatment center receive reimbursement from the health insurance?
These are fundamental business and financial questions, which is no time to guess. Insufficient operating capital is one of the biggest reasons substance abuse rehabilitation centers fail.
Drug Rehab Owners Stop Guessing about Getting Reimbursed by Insurance Companies
The best way for drug rehabs to get the correct answers is through insurance benefits verification software. instantvob® is the best way to verify health insurance benefits. instantvob® can help verify all insurances like Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS), CIGNA, and United Healthcare.
This medical billing revenue cycle software helps in several critical ways for drug and alcohol addiction treatment centers. Here are some of the reasons your center needs real-time verification.
- Increases admission approval speed
- Reduce write-offs on patient’s bills that the insurance companies did not reimburse for or underpaid
Getting accurate substance abuse benefits information is critical for drug rehabs. You need access to this vital information on nights and weekends. When your outreach staff receives a call on nights and weekends, they cannot verify with the insurance companies. Our web app allows you to get this information anytime, 24 hours a day! instantvob® gives you all the patient insurance information you need to make an informed decision.
- Policy active status
- Deductible
- Co-pays
- Co-insurance
- Which levels of care are covered by their policy?
Being able to advise a potential client on a weekend call is critical. If they don’t get the answers from your center, they will call another. Give instantvob® a call at 561-530-5755 and get your center up and running today with our real-time insurance benefits verification tool.
Maximize Drug Rehabs Leads by Verifying Health Insurance Benefits
As we said before, it costs a lot to generate leads for drug rehab. A lot of time and money is spent to keep your addiction treatment center doors open. Having the tools to eliminate the guessing of potential clients is incredibly valuable. It increases operating revenue and gives outreach professionals the correct information to help a likely patient.
Your outreach staff gets a call on Saturday at 10 pm. They run the potential client’s health insurance information through instantvob®. They find out in under 10 seconds that they cannot help that individual. Instead of saying, I’m sorry we cannot help you, they will be able to refer them to one of the center’s preferred partners.
The individual seeking help will be highly grateful. Finding treatment for substance abuse is a complicated and often an overwhelming task. If you make sure someone gets into the best hands to help them, it is a much better situation than just saying,” Sorry, I can’t help you.”, or “I’ll get back to you tomorrow.
Call instantvob® and Start Verifying Benefits Instantly!
Drug rehab owners are always trying to find ways to increase revenue or recoup lost and earned income. Our insurance eligibility verification software does all of that and more. We’re not talking about a couple of thousand dollars in unpaid claims. The outstanding claims average more than 20% of a treatment center’s annual revenue.
Don’t wait another day and lose more money from poor admissions decisions. Give us a call at 561-530-5755 for a free demo.
