20 Questions to Ask a Rehab Before Admission

Call each program with the same list of questions and write down every answer, along with the name of the person who gave it. Start with medication and withdrawal, since a wrong answer there rules a program out. A careful program answers with names and numbers and will put things in writing.

A worried family wants to say yes to the first open bed. A written list slows that down, and the Rehab Comparison Worksheet puts programs side by side. Ask narrow questions. “Is your program good?” gets a sales pitch. “Can you email me a sample weekly schedule?” gets a fact.

What should we have ready before we call?

Have the level of care a clinician recommended, if you have one (if not, start with what a clinical assessment involves). Know what your loved one uses, how much and how often, and whether they’ve had trouble with withdrawal before. List every medication they take, including buprenorphine, methadone, naltrexone or psychiatric medicines. Keep the insurance card handy, and note the date and the name and role of each person you speak with.

You don’t have to decide on the first call. SAMHSA suggests that if a provider can’t see your family member within 48 hours, you find another one.²

What are the 20 questions?

Print one copy per program.

20 questions to ask on the admissions call

0 of 20 done

Medical safety and medication
1. Do you start, continue or allow medications for opioid and alcohol use disorder? Would anyone have to stop a medication to be admitted?
1. How do you handle withdrawal from this substance? If you don’t provide detox, where would they go, and how is the handoff arranged?
1. Who is your medical director, and what are their credentials? Is a physician or nurse practitioner on site, and for how many hours?
1. How often will they see a psychiatrist or psychiatric nurse practitioner? Which mental health conditions do you treat, and which do you refer out?
1. Who is on site overnight and on weekends, and what happens if someone gets medically or psychiatrically worse? Is naloxone kept on hand?
Licensing and who provides care
1. What is your state license number, which levels of care does it cover, and for which address?
1. Are you accredited? By whom, and when does it expire?
1. Who am I speaking with, and who will actually treat my loved one: your own licensed staff or contracted services?
The treatment itself
1. How do you assess each person and build their treatment plan? How often is the plan reviewed?
1. What does a typical day look like? How many hours of individual therapy per week, and with whom?
1. Which therapies do you use, and how are your therapists trained in them?
1. How do you decide the length of stay? What happens if insurance stops paying but the team thinks more care is needed?
Money
1. Are you in network with our specific plan for this level of care at this location?
1. What will we owe, in writing? What happens if a claim is denied?
Family, rules and privacy
1. What is your family program, and how often can we take part?
1. What are the phone, visiting and communication rules? How will you update us if our loved one signs a release?
1. What happens if they use, break a rule or want to leave early? Do you discharge people for a return to use?
After treatment and trust
1. When does discharge planning start, and what will the aftercare plan include?
1. Do you pay or receive anything for referrals, or have financial ties to sober homes, marketers or other programs?
1. Have you treated people with needs like my loved one’s (age, pregnancy, trauma, chronic pain, LGBTQ+ identity, disability or language)?

What do good answers sound like?

Medical safety and medication (questions 1–5)

SAMHSA says quality programs use FDA-approved medications for alcohol or opioid use,¹ and notes that buprenorphine, methadone and naltrexone are safe for long-term use and shouldn’t be stopped without talking to a doctor.³ Our plain guide to medications for addiction explains each one.

Question	A good answer	Keep asking if you hear
1. Medications	“Yes, without a gap. We confirm the dose with their prescriber.”	“We’re abstinence-only,” or “They’ll need to taper off first.”
2. Withdrawal	They ask what your loved one uses, then say where withdrawal is managed and how the transfer works	“They’ll be fine” before they’ve asked a single question
3. Medical staff	A named medical director, with credentials you can look up, and set hours on site	“A doctor is on call,” with no hours or name
4. Psychiatry	A prescriber on the team who sees patients on a set schedule	“We refer out for that,” for a condition your loved one already has
5. Nights and weekends	Staff on site around the clock in residential care, and a named hospital they use	Hesitation about who is there at night

Withdrawal from alcohol or benzodiazepines can cause seizures, so talk with a doctor before your loved one stops or cuts back while you wait for a bed (when withdrawal needs medical care).⁴¹¹

Licensing and who provides care (questions 6–8)

Every program and its health care professionals should be licensed and accredited, according to SAMHSA.¹

Question	A good answer	Keep asking if you hear
6. State license	The number, the levels of care it covers and the street address	“We’re fully licensed,” with no number
7. Accreditation	The accrediting body and the expiry date	A logo on the website, but no details
8. Who you’re talking to	“I work for [program] at [address].”	A “helpline” that won’t name the facility

Then check the license yourself with the state agency and the accreditor. Question 8 matters because, as the Federal Trade Commission warns, some businesses run search ads under the names of real treatment centers and list their own phone numbers.⁷

The treatment itself (questions 9–12)

NIAAA notes that no single treatment helps everyone, and suggests asking whether care is tailored to the person and adjusted as their needs change.⁴

Question	A good answer	Keep asking if you hear
9. Assessment and plan	A full assessment at admission and regular plan reviews	Everyone gets the same 30-day program
10. A typical day	A sample schedule they’ll send you, with hours of individual therapy	“A holistic healing journey,” with no schedule
11. Therapies	Named approaches, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, motivational interviewing and education about the condition¹	Amenities instead of treatment: pools, views, chefs
12. Length of stay	It depends on progress, and they explain what happens if insurance stops approving days	A fixed number of days before anyone has assessed your loved one

On length of stay, NIDA says most people need at least three months in treatment to significantly reduce or stop their drug use.⁵ That time can span more than one level of care. To judge the therapies a program names, see which approaches have research behind them.

Money (questions 13–14)

“We take your insurance” can mean the program is in network, or only that it will bill your plan out of network. Whatever admissions tells you, call your insurance plan yourself before you sign. If your loved one is uninsured or paying without insurance, in most cases they can get a good faith estimate of the cost before care starts.⁸

Family, rules and privacy (questions 15–17)

SAMHSA counts including family members in treatment, as the person in care wishes, among the signs of quality care.¹

Question	A good answer	Keep asking if you hear
15. Family program	Scheduled family sessions or education, with dates you can plan around	“Family isn’t really part of what we do”
16. Contact and updates	Clear phone and visiting rules, and how they’ll update you if a release is signed	Contact discouraged with no reason given
17. Return to use or leaving early	A return to use leads to a change in the plan, and early exits come with a safety plan	Automatic discharge with nowhere to go

Updates depend on that release: federal privacy rules for substance use treatment records mean programs usually need your adult loved one’s written consent before sharing anything with you.⁹ Ask your loved one about signing one at admission. Why the program may not tell you anything explains more.

After treatment and trust (questions 18–20)

A good answer to question 18 sounds like “We start in the first week, and the next appointment is booked before they leave.” SAMHSA also looks for help with housing, jobs and long-term recovery support.¹ More on the first weeks home.

For question 19, the only good answer is a plain no. Paying or receiving anything of value for referrals to a treatment facility, recovery home or lab can be a federal crime when insurance covers the care.¹⁰ Offers of free travel, free rent or cash are a warning sign in themselves.

For question 20, ask how many people with similar needs they’ve treated and what they do differently.

When should we keep looking?

Walk away from a program that won’t answer questions 6, 8, 14 or 19, guarantees results, or pushes you to decide within the hour. Our list of rehab warning signs covers the rest. Once you’ve chosen, go through the final checks before admission day with your loved one.

Frequently asked questions

How many programs should we call?

Three is a practical number: enough to compare, without losing days. Build the shortlist from neutral sources such as FindTreatment.gov, which lists facilities licensed or approved by state authorities and lets you filter by medications offered and payment.⁶

Should we ask about success rates?

You can. NIAAA suggests asking whether and how a program measures success.⁴ Ask what was measured, over what period, and how many former patients were reached. A lone percentage with no explanation tells you little.

Do these questions work for detox or outpatient programs too?

Most of them do. For a detox, give questions 2 and 18 the most weight. Detox alone does little to change long-term use, so where your loved one goes next is what counts.⁵

Your next step

Download the Treatment Decision Checklist

Compare three programs side by side →Call your plan yourself: the 10 questions →

Sources

SAMHSA — Quality Treatment for Mental Health, Drugs and Alcohol (last updated 2023). samhsa.gov/find-support/learn-about-treatment/finding-quality-treatmen… — accessed Oct 2026
SAMHSA — Finding Quality Treatment for Substance Use Disorders (fact sheet, PEP18-TREATMENT-LOC, 2018). library.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/pep18-treatment-loc.pdf — accessed Oct 2026
SAMHSA — Treatment Options for Substance Use Disorder (updated August 2025). samhsa.gov/substance-use/treatment/options — accessed Oct 2026
NIAAA — Treatment for Alcohol Problems: Finding and Getting Help (updated February 2025). niaaa.nih.gov/publications/brochures-and-fact-sheets/treatment-alcohol… — accessed Oct 2026
NIDA — Principles of Drug Addiction Treatment: A Research-Based Guide (3rd edition). nida.nih.gov/sites/default/files/podat-3rdEd-508.pdf — accessed Oct 2026
SAMHSA, FindTreatment.gov — Frequently Asked Questions. findtreatment.gov/faqs — accessed Oct 2026
Federal Trade Commission — How to avoid scams when looking for drug treatment (August 2025). consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2025/08/how-avoid-scams-when-looking-… — accessed Oct 2026
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services — No Surprises: Understand your rights against surprise medical bills. cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/no-surprises-understand-your-rights-again… — accessed Oct 2026
HHS — Fact Sheet: 42 CFR Part 2 Final Rule (February 2024; compliance date February 16, 2026). hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/regulatory-initiatives/fact-sheet-42-c… — accessed Oct 2026
18 U.S.C. § 220 — Illegal remunerations for referrals to recovery homes, clinical treatment facilities, and laboratories (Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act, 2018). uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=%28title%3A18+section%3A220+edition%3A… — accessed Oct 2026
FDA — FDA requiring Boxed Warning updated to improve safe use of benzodiazepine drug class, Drug Safety Communication (September 23, 2020). fda.gov/drugs/drug-safety-and-availability/fda-requiring-boxed-warning… — accessed Oct 2026