Finding a health insurance quote for substance abuse treatment can appear challenging at first glance. Not all health insurance quote providers offer coverage for mental health benefits, which is the umbrella under which addiction services such as substance abuse treatment current resides. Since the institution of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, often termed Mental Health Parity for short, in 2008, more providers are beginning to offer equal benefits for mental health and addiction services as they offer for physical health issues. However, the federal government left the actual implementation of the Mental Health Parity Act of 2008 up to each individual state, and as such, the implementation depends more on what the state decides and whether individual insurers who operate within that state are required to offer mental health and addiction services benefits if they did not offer them prior to the act.

The first place to start searching for a health insurance quote for substance abuse treatment is with any preexisting employer sponsored health care plan. Calling the Employee Assistance Program hotline or human resources department for information on getting coverage through the employer sponsored health care plan can be a good place to start. If there is not access to an employer sponsored health care plan or that coverage does not include substance abuse treatment benefits, it is time to search for an individual health care policy that will offer these benefits. Having preliminary data at hand will help in filling out online inquiry forms that can generate ballpark quotes and coverage limit comparisons.

The best place to start a search for health insurance for substance abuse treatment is via a simple internet search. Entering a phrase such as "health insurance substance abuse" with the name of the state of residence at the end should pull up a variety of links that lead to more information about health insurance coverage in the state of residence that will offer substance abuse treatment benefits. From here, it is vital to schedule a time to talk on the phone with a licensed insurance agent from each carrier that offers substance abuse treatment benefits, especially if the customer already has possible treatment providers or treatment centers in mind that would be a good fit, to see what kind of actual coverage is offered. Some providers will only cover a certain number of outpatient visits, others will cover inpatient or residential, or intensive outpatient treatment, as well.

Finding a provider that offers more comprehensive and continuous coverage is the goal of the search for a provider, as research studies highlight the importance of ongoing access to care for highest probability of success with substance abuse treatment long term.