Program will provide assistance to persons appealing denials of insurance and Medicaid coverage for substance abuse treatment
Attorney General Matt Denn announced Wednesday that the Delaware Department of Justice’s new legal assistance program for Delawareans denied insurance coverage for substance abuse treatment is in operation and ready to assist Delawareans dealing with coverage denials.
Delawareans who have been denied insurance coverage for substance abuse treatment can contact the Department of Justice by phone or email to see if they are eligible for assistance in having insurance or Medicaid cover treatment they have obtained.
Under the new program, believed to be the only one of its type in the country, the Department of Justice will retain attorneys and other professionals to help persons appeal substance abuse treatment benefit denials by private insurance carriers or the state’s Medicaid program. Initial screening of cases will be done by DOJ personnel, and the legal work itself will be performed by attorneys under contract with DOJ.
Delawareans who have been denied coverage for substance abuse treatment can contact DOJ’s program by:
- phoning its new hotline at 302-577-4206;
- emailing dojtreatmentassistance@delaware.gov; or
- going to https://attorneygeneral.delaware.gov/dojtreatmentassistance/
Persons seeking assistance will need to complete an application for assistance and may need to execute medical privacy releases in order to determine whether assistance can be provided. The forms are available on the program’s webpage.
The new DOJ program was made possible by House Bill 100, passed by the General Assembly last spring and signed by the Governor on May 30. The bill, which took effect on September 27, allowed DOJ to use funds from its Consumer Protection Fund for this new purpose of assisting Delawareans who were denied insurance coverage for medically-necessary substance abuse treatment.
“When I talk to Delawareans struggling with drug addiction and their families, this issue of insurance coverage being denied or cut off comes up more than any other concern. We are looking forward to using this new authority to come to the assistance of Delawareans who have wrongfully been denied coverage for substance abuse treatment,” Attorney General Denn said. “I am very grateful to the bi-partisan group of legislators who worked with us to champion HB 100 and ensured its passage last spring. I also want to thank Deputy Attorney General Christian Wright, director of DOJ’s Consumer Protection Unit, for all the work he has put in over the past several months setting up this program.”