If you or someone with you is thinking about suicide or is in crisis, call or text 988 now.
How Maryland Medicaid pays for addiction treatment
Maryland's program is Maryland Medicaid, delivered through HealthChoice managed care. Under the 2010 Affordable Care Act, plans must cover substance use disorder treatment as an essential health benefit.
Before admission, call the treatment program and ask whether it accepts Maryland Medicaid for the specific service you need, such as detox, residential care or outpatient treatment.
If you are looking for Medicaid rehab in Maryland, 354 of the 544 facilities in our Maryland directory accept Medicaid. The service counts that follow cover all 544 listed facilities, not only the Medicaid-accepting ones. Outpatient care is the most commonly listed service, at 369 facilities. Fewer list residential rehab (44) or detox (30). Day treatment, also called partial hospitalization, is listed by 91 facilities, and 53 offer intensive outpatient (IOP). For people who also have a mental health condition, 180 facilities list co-occurring care, and 35 offer virtual or in-home treatment.
This chart compares how many of the 544 listed Maryland facilities offer each service, from 369 for outpatient care down to 30 for detox.
Who qualifies and how to apply
Because Maryland expanded Medicaid, adults in Maryland with income up to 138% of the federal poverty level can qualify. You apply for Maryland Medicaid through Maryland Health Connection.
You can apply in any month of the year. There is no enrollment window, so if you or a family member needs treatment now, apply now. If care has already started, ask Maryland Health Connection when you apply whether your coverage can be backdated, and for how many months.
Do not put treatment on hold while your application is under review. Call programs, tell them your Medicaid application has been submitted, and ask whether they can admit you on a sliding scale or through state funding until you hear back.
State-funded treatment for people without Medicaid
State-funded rehab in Maryland is overseen by the Maryland Department of Health's Behavioral Health Administration (BHA). Day to day, your county's local behavioral health authority coordinates state-funded treatment for uninsured residents. 211 Maryland can help you find local services at any hour.
Many programs that receive federal SAMHSA block grant funding serve people who cannot pay, often on a sliding scale based on income. If you are looking for free rehab in Maryland, ask each program whether it serves people who cannot pay and whether it uses a sliding scale by income. At programs funded by SAMHSA block grants, pregnant women and people who inject drugs receive priority admission, so if that applies to you, say so on the first call.
Expect a wait for some kinds of care. Many state-funded rehab programs keep waitlists for residential beds, while outpatient waits tend to be shorter. If you are waiting for a residential bed, ask the program whether outpatient care is available in the meantime.
The Maryland Department of Health licenses behavioral health programs. Ask any program about its license before you commit; a legitimate program will answer readily.
What treatment costs when you pay for it yourself
We cannot give you a price, because costs vary widely; a week of residential treatment and a weekly outpatient group are very different bills. On a sliding scale, your fee is based on your income, so be ready to discuss what you earn when you call.
If you can, call several programs and ask each the same three questions: do you have a sliding scale, what would my fee be at my income, and is there state funding I can apply for? Write down each answer. If the first program cannot help, keep calling, because another may have the funding or the opening the first one lacked.
Medicaid-accepting programs in our directory
The facility list on this page is pulled from our database and includes all 354 Maryland programs in our directory that accept Medicaid. Our full Maryland listing covers 544 facilities in 106 cities and towns; see our Maryland treatment hub.
Baltimore has the most options for Medicaid rehab in Maryland, with 77 of the city's 138 listed programs accepting Medicaid. Glen Burnie and Frederick follow with 14 each, then Hagerstown with 12 and Salisbury with 10. For Baltimore listings, see the Baltimore page.
This chart ranks those five cities by the number of Medicaid-accepting programs in our directory, with Baltimore at 77 and Salisbury at 10.
Examples from our listings include House of Change Behavioral Health Center and Turning Point Clinic, both in Baltimore, and Maryland Treatment Centers in Frederick. Naming them is not an endorsement or a ranking. Before you go to any program, call to confirm that it accepts Maryland Medicaid and has space at the level of care you need.
Maryland agencies that can help
- Maryland Medicaid (apply via Maryland Health Connection): apply for Maryland Medicaid and check on your application here.
- Behavioral Health Administration: read about state-funded treatment from Maryland's state substance use agency, part of the Maryland Department of Health.
- 211 Maryland
How to get started today
This diagram sets out three ways to begin. If you have Medicaid, contact a program; 354 listed facilities accept it. If you have no coverage, apply any month and ask about state-funded treatment and sliding-scale fees while you wait. If you need help today, call the SAMHSA National Helpline or 988.
If you have Medicaid, contact a program from the facility list on this page and confirm that it accepts Maryland Medicaid for the care you need. If you have no coverage, apply through Maryland Health Connection first, and while the application is pending, ask programs about state-funded treatment and sliding-scale fees. 211 Maryland can also connect you with local help at any hour.
The SAMHSA National Helpline is 1-800-662-4357. Calls are free and confidential, and the line is open 24 hours in English and Spanish.
If you are unsure what your coverage includes, or you have private insurance as well as Medicaid, you can verify your insurance on our site. For support between appointments or while you wait for a bed, our directory lists 1,276 AA meetings and 592 NA meetings in Maryland; see the Maryland meetings page. When you are ready, make the first call and keep working through the list until a program can take you.
