What if I can’t afford treatment?

Can't afford treatment? square graphic outstretched hand with phone

Often the biggest trap to our entering a treatment program is the question, “What if I can’t afford treatment?” Treatment being expensive doesn’t mean you’re out of options—it means you need a plan and you need to move. SAMHSA explicitly lists “free or low cost” paths like sliding-fee scale care for people who don’t have insurance or can’t afford treatment even with insurance.​

If you’re in danger, don’t debate it with yourself—get immediate support first, then sort out the logistics. The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is 24/7 and you can call or text 988.​

A step-by-step plan (do this today)

  1. If you’re not safe, hit the emergency button. Call or text 988 (or call 911 if it’s a medical emergency).​
  2. Call SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357). It’s free, confidential, and available 24/7/365 for treatment referrals and information (English/Spanish).​
  3. Open FindTreatment.gov and run your ZIP code. It’s a confidential and anonymous treatment locator for mental health and substance use disorders.​
  4. Filter hard for affordability. On FindTreatment.gov, use filters like “Payment Assistance Available,” “Sliding fee scale,” and “State financed” to surface low-cost and publicly funded options.​
  5. Make a “call list” of 5–10 places and call in waves (don’t wait for one place to call back). Ask each program about sliding scale, state-funded/grant-funded spots, and what it takes to get an intake scheduled.​
  6. If inpatient/residential isn’t possible right now, ask about outpatient or intensive outpatient as a bridge instead of doing nothing while you wait. SAMHSA lists multiple ways to access lower-cost help, and outpatient options are often part of that pathway.​
  7. Get a backup door into care: find a community health clinic/FQHC near you and ask for behavioral health or substance use services. Health centers are required to have a sliding fee discount program and must accept patients regardless of ability to pay.​

What to say on the phone (copy/paste)

Use these exact lines so you don’t freeze up:

  • “I need addiction treatment but I can’t afford private-pay. Do you have a sliding-fee scale or payment assistance?”​
  • “Do you have state-funded, grant-funded, or scholarship spots? What are the requirements?”​
  • “What’s the earliest intake appointment, and what do you need from me?”​
  • “If you’re full, who do you recommend that has low-cost openings?”​

How to find nonprofit or state-funded programs (anywhere)

  • Use FindTreatment.gov and filter for “state financed” and “payment assistance/sliding fee scale,” then call and ask if they’re nonprofit or publicly funded and whether they have any “no insurance” slots.​
  • Call SAMHSA’s National Helpline and ask for “nonprofit or state-funded options near my ZIP code,” plus at least two backups in case of waitlists.​
  • Look for Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) as a practical “start here” option because they are required to offer sliding fee discounts and accept patients regardless of ability to pay.​

Resources (free to use)

Bottom Line

If you can’t afford treatment, don’t take that as a dead end—take it as a signal to switch tactics: call for referrals, use the national locator filters for sliding-scale/payment assistance/state-funded options, and keep making calls until you get an intake date.​

In active addiction we did anything we had to do to get our fix. We have to want sobriety and recovery just as bad.

Next Right Moves

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Isaac
Isaac

Isaac is a recovering addict who spent years chasing different highs before choosing to fight for his life instead of slowly losing it. He’s coming up on one year clean on February 1st, 2026, and uses RawRecoveryJourney.com to tell the truth about recovery the way an addict actually thinks and feels it, not the polished version people like to hear. He’s a father of two sons, a former successful business owner, and a computer nerd at heart, turning his lived chaos into straight-up honesty, practical tools, and a place where other addicts don’t have to lie about how hard this really is.

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