How to Compare Two Written Estimates for Alcohol Rehab in California

Use these table headings: category, Facility A quoted amount, Facility B quoted amount, included or excluded, quantity or time assumption, payment due date, status, and evidence. If either document uses a package price, ask for a written list of what the package includes and what may be billed separately. Do not assign a zero to a blank field. Mark it not established until the facility answers.

Useful rows include initial assessment, room and board if applicable, professional services, medications if clinically appropriate, laboratory or outside services, supplies, family involvement, discharge or continuing-care planning, and any external provider charges. These rows are comparison prompts, not claims that every program provides or separately bills each item. SAMHSA quality guidance supports asking about licensing, accreditation, evidence-supported care, clinically appropriate medications, family involvement, and continuing-care planning. Ask how each feature appears in the estimate and whether another entity bills for it. NIDA’s principles also emphasize that needs differ and that treatment should address the individual, not only substance use. Price alone cannot establish fit or quality.

• Copy the estimate date and the period for which the quote is valid.
• Write the exact program or service description used by the facility.
• Record the assumed number of days, units, sessions, tests, or other billable items, without guessing at missing quantities. Verify how charges change if actual use differs from the

Make a small cash-timing schedule under the comparison table. List the amount due with an application, the amount due before arrival, the amount due at admission, later payment dates, and possible balances after discharge. For every deposit, ask whether it is refundable, partially refundable, or nonrefundable, and under what exact circumstances. Ask when a refund is issued, whether administrative fees are deducted, and whether authorization or scheduling changes affect the policy.

Keep payment and placement as separate checkpoints. A quoted price or requested deposit does not prove that a bed is currently available, that the program is appropriate, or that admission will occur. Before sending money, request the legal payee name, an itemized receipt, the written refund terms, and a contact for billing questions. Avoid treating urgency in a sales conversation as evidence that an immediate payment is medically or financially necessary.

• Confirm the deposit amount, deadline, payment method, and legal payee.
• Confirm cancellation, transfer, early-departure, and refund terms in writing.
• Ask whether any financing arrangement creates interest, fees, or a separate contract.

Add a coverage worksheet beside the facility estimate. Record the insurer representative, date, reference number, facility and billing entity checked, network response, deductible information, coinsurance or copayment, authorization requirements, exclusions, and whether claims or clinical review could affect payment. Use the exact wording you receive. “Benefits available” is not the same as a guarantee of payment, and a facility estimate is not an insurer’s final claim determination.

Ask the facility whether the quote assumes insurance payment, private payment, or a combination. Ask which services or outside bills may use different billing entities. Then verify relevant answers with the health plan using the exact legal and billing identities supplied by the facility. If the facility and insurer give different answers, label the row needs review and ask both parties to clarify in writing. Do not calculate a confident final patient cost from unverified percentages or general benefit descriptions.

• Do not mark coverage confirmed solely because someone says the plan is “accepted.”
• Keep quoted price, billed charge, allowed amount, estimated plan payment, and patient responsibility in separate rows.
• Leave the final responsibility as unresolved when authorization, claims review, or billing details remain open.