How To Open A Rehab in Iowa

How to Open a Drug Rehab in Iowa

The beauty and hospitality in the heart of the midwest can’t hide Iowa’s excessive drinking and high opioid deaths. Iowa struggled with drinking before the pandemic but after it has been steadily on the rise. Moreover, Iowa ranks second in the nation for excessive drinking.

In fact, 24% of Iowan’s are reporting binge drinking.  But don’t let the 868 alcohol related deaths in 2022 fool you that Iowans are immune to the opioid epidemic. More than 720 people died of overdose in 2021. More than 7,800 Iowans accepted treatment for substance use disorder.

A Steady Increase in Substance Abuse Disorder Admissions

Even more surprising Methamphetamine was the primary drug of choice listed when seeking treatment. With this in mind opening a drug and alcohol treatment center would be a very meaningful undertaking.

Access to High Quality Addiction Treatment

Iowans deserve access to several options of high quality treatment. We want to help you build the treatment center of you dreams. It’s important to consider location, community need including different levels of care according to ASAM standards. as well as available grant money for rural locations.

Iowa is no stranger to treatment deserts with scarce resources. Of Iowa’s 99 counties, 15 counties lack any trained provider and 23 have access to just one option for substance use disorder treatment.

How Much Does it Cost to Open a Drug Rehab?

When considering opening a mental health treatment facility, there are many variables to consider including but not limited to location and level of care. Licensing in Iowa doesn’t have to include accreditation, we highly recommend it in order to attain substantial insurance contracts.

Understanding the insurance billing process is essential to running a successful rehab. An IOP (intensive outpatient) will set you back $200 to $500 thousand at a minimum. There are important factors to include like the lag time in processing claims after your center has been opened for several months.

How to License an Addiction Treatment Facility

The Iowa State Code is pretty clear that anyone in the state preforming any level of care must be licensed including online providers.

There’s a 40 page guide outlining the licensure standards when opening treatment for substance abuse disorder and gambling problems. Fortunately, the process is fairly standard. The application is pretty straight forward and will include attachments filling out permits for zoning, fire Marshall inspections as well as financials and insurance information.

Why Hire a Addiction Treatment Consultant?

At Orion we have gone through the licensure process in most states and help your organization move through this process as efficiently as possible. You will get a provisional license and then must reapply every three years.

Accreditation Opens Doors

While not required the state will allow CARF or JCO to stand in place of the licensure process. Attaining higher accreditation is key to gaining trust within the treatment community and landing contracts with insurance companies.

Wherever you are in your process, Orion can help you achieve your goals. We understand the industry, we can hire qualified professionals and help build evidence based programming.

Contact a consultant today.