Does Insurance Cover PTSD and Trauma Treatment?

Using Health Insurance for Trauma Programs at Icarus in NM

Suffering from a mental illness like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or struggling to cope with trauma is incredibly difficult. I saw this firsthand when my childhood best friend came back from deployment and suffered daily because of the experiences he had in Iraq and, later, Afghanistan.

These silent conditions may not always be visible, but they’re as real as any other affliction and, therefore, require mental health services from a team of professionals. But you need to be able to afford it. So, does insurance cover PTSD and trauma treatment?

Well, take a deep breath, the answer is yes. If you have insurance, your mental health conditions are likely to be covered thanks to essential health benefits that are required to be offered by insurers.

Icarus Behavioral Health was where my friend ultimately decided to seek care, and he’s glad he did. They provide holistic rehabilitation programs that address the physical, mental, and emotional elements of PTSD and trauma to help you cope with your condition. They also work with most insurance providers in New Mexico to make care affordable for as many clients as possible.

Keep reading to learn why you should seek care for PTSD and trauma treatment and get reasons to consider Icarus for your care as well!

The Importance of PTSD and Trauma Treatment

Post-traumatic stress disorder is a complex and multifaceted mental health condition that’s more prevalent than you might expect. Approximately 3.5% of adults in the United States suffer from PTSD symptoms and even more experience trauma that has an impact on their mental health.

There’s no singular solution to achieving relief from the symptoms of trauma because no two people experience it the same way. It can change the way you act and feel, impact your relationships, and greatly diminish your quality of life.

I watched someone who I grew up with become a shell of his former self, isolating himself from loved ones so he could be alone and coping through substance abuse. This is why effectively treating PTSD and trauma is essential for the long-term health of anyone suffering from them.

Getting to Know the Symptoms of Trauma or PTSD

If you or someone you know experienced a traumatic experience, you might be suffering from PTSD. Experiencing or witnessing natural disasters, sudden deaths, acts of terror, assaults, and car accidents are just a few reasons why people develop mental health conditions like PTSD, even if they don’t know it.

While there aren’t any definitive indicators of someone dealing with complications from trauma, there are some key characteristics to look out for. These include:

• Irritability
• Sudden hostility
• Reckless behavior
• Trouble sleeping
• Nightmares that wake you up
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Hypervigilance
• Avoidance of triggering activities

If you’re experiencing these symptoms or see them in a loved one, it’s important to seek help from licensed mental health providers such as the clinicians at Icarus. They can provide you with the assistance you need or refer you to someone who will work with your insurance company.

The Impact of PTSD and Trauma On Everyday Life

Mental health conditions are especially difficult to cope with because they are constantly impacting our daily lives. When the source of your symptoms is your brain, it means that PTSD plays a part in everything you do. Social interactions, working, driving, eating, and even sleeping can be affected by your mental health condition, making it hard to live your daily life.

Anxiety and depression are conditions that also often impact the lives of people with trauma-related mental disorders. Anxiety can cause you to overthink things and struggle with restorative activities like sleep, continuing a cycle of poor mental and physical health. Depression can cause you to lose interest in your hobbies, isolate yourself from loved ones, and struggle professionally due to brain fog and other cognitive symptoms.

The longer you go without treatment, the more likely these complications are to develop and the harder they become to cope with. Don’t hesitate to start seeking treatment as soon as you recognize that you’re struggling like my friend did. Save yourself the pain and suffering of living with untreated post-traumatic stress disorder and trauma, and seek proven programs for help with PTSD at Icarus.

Are PTSD and Trauma Treatment Covered By Insurance?

For many people, insurance coverage is the difference between getting help and suffering unnecessarily. Some facilities and treatment plans can get expensive very quickly, making it hard for those suffering to afford proper care without the help and financial assistance of their insurance company.

Fortunately, thanks to the Affordable Care Act, most insurance plans are required to provide coverage for essential health benefits, including mental health and substance abuse care. You can receive diagnostic, treatment, and ongoing care coverage from a mental health provider. In some cases, you might also be eligible for disability insurance benefits.

However, the specific coverage, network of care centers, treating physicians, and costs for treatment will vary depending on the type of insurance you have.

What Types of Insurance Cover PTSD and Trauma Treatment?

Both individual and group plans can cover mental health treatment for conditions like PTSD. Personal health insurance plans through companies like Horizon, Cigna, Aetna, Humana, United Health, and others will include coverage for PTSD treatment.

Government-sponsored plans through Medicare or Medicaid (and affiliated providers such as Western Sky insurance) must also include coverage for mental health services.

Each insurance company will have disability insurance policies with different requirements and limits for coverage, so it’s best to contact Icarus directly to discuss what kind of insurance coverage you would have for treating PTSD.

Will Insurance Cover Inpatient Programs for PTSD and Trauma?

Inpatient programs for trauma are a vital part of treating sensitive disorders like PTSD because of the impact that it can have on daily life. As part of inpatient care, you’ll stay at the treatment facility for a period of time that’s decided by your treatment plan and progress. You’ll be able to have regular monitoring, accessible treatment options, guidance, and opportunities for therapy to help you cope with the challenges that come with PTSD.

Get Effective Treatments for Overcoming Trauma and PTSD

As mentioned earlier, treating a complex condition like PTSD is difficult due to the number of factors that impact how someone copes with their trauma. While you might hope for a treatment or procedure that can get rid of the trauma you’ve experienced, there is no cure for PTSD.

Treatment focuses on building the coping skills required to process and live with the memory through therapy and using medication to lessen the severity of symptoms.

There are a lot of different strategies that can be used to treat PTSD symptoms and trauma. Here are a few of the most common.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a form of psychotherapy where you work with a mental health professional to change your way of thinking. It can include presenting and dissecting problems, creating plans of action for addressing the problems, and building the necessary coping skills to overcome a stressful situation.

CBT helps people with PTSD and traumatic experiences to learn strategies for managing anxiety resulting from their disorder being triggered, minimizing its impact on their daily lives. You’ll also outline your thought process when experiencing a traumatic episode and work to change your way of thinking to avoid significant anxiety.

Prolonged Exposure Therapy

Prolonged exposure therapy is a type of cognitive behavioral therapy that focuses on gradually approaching the trauma itself in a safe environment. You can confront the trauma, identify the emotions you experienced, and accept the reality of the situation to take away its power.

If you have PTSD, prolonged exposure therapy allows you to talk about anything you’ve been avoiding or repressed emotions resulting from the trauma. From there, you can delve deeper into those feelings and desensitize yourself to the traumatic event so that triggers aren’t as intense.

Group Therapy

Group therapy is used to help people cope with PTSD due to the community-like environment that it creates. Mental illnesses can be isolating and make you feel like you’re the only one who is struggling. However, meeting with a group and hearing others share their feelings can make you feel less alone.

Group therapy for PTSD is especially effective when your group shares a type of traumatic event, such as military deployment so that everyone can empathize and understand what you went through.

Medication Management

While PTSD is a mental health condition, the symptoms you feel are often physical. When you experience a flashback or trigger for your trauma, you may get anxiety, nausea, a rapid heart rate, pain, or intense emotional distress that’s overwhelming. Living with PTSD can also cause depression, which makes it harder to cope with these experiences.

With medication management, your mental health professional will be able to provide you with different prescriptions that can help with controlling the mental and physical effects of traumatic event triggers.

Antidepressants help to stabilize your brain chemicals to curb your emotional reactions and minimize anxiety. Benzodiazepines are anti-anxiety medications that can help shorten any anxiety attacks you experience. Alpha-blockers can be used to slow down the stimulative effects of anxiety to keep your heart rate lower and maintain a greater sense of calm.

The Benefits of Holistic Approaches to Healing

Traumatic experiences can have a significant impact on your mental health, including your personality and actions. It can make you feel alone or make you isolate yourself from everyone you love, further damaging your mental health and degrading your quality of life.

The best way to address PTSD and trauma is through treatment from mental health professionals. They can help you change your thinking, address your trauma, and cope with the daily challenges that your mental illness presents. However, getting help can be intimidating both mentally and financially if you’re uncertain about your health insurance coverage.

If you have health insurance, it’s very likely that you have mental health coverage thanks to the Affordable Care Act. But to get the most out of your plan (as well as the best results) you’ll need to attend treatment at a facility like the one my friend took advantage of with Icarus Behavioral Health. Fortunately, they work with most insurance companies in New Mexico to help make PTSD treatment accessible and affordable to anyone who needs it.

Overcome PTSD and Trauma with Our Support at Icarus

Take it from me: my friend changed entirely as a result of military-related trauma to the point of being unrecognizable. Luckily, Icarus Behavioral Health provided the care that he needed to find himself again and overcome the challenges that PTSD presented for him. He’s doing well these days – and we have Icarus to thank for that.

Don’t continue to suffer in silence. Reach out to a care coordinator at Icarus today to learn more about your coverage and get the help you need for PTSD and trauma!