Albertans will no longer have to pay out-of-pocket to receive treatment for addictions.
The provincial government announced Friday morning that the $40-per-day user fee to access publicly-funded residential treatment beds — or, $2,400 for 60 days of therapy — has been eliminated.
“We are giving all Albertans — regardless of their financial situation — the opportunity to recover and build a better life. Recovery is for everyone,” Jason Luan, associate minister of mental health and addictions, stated in the news release.
Low-income Albertans already had their costs for treatment covered by the government.
According to the news release, the Residential Addiction Treatment Allowance (RATA), provided through the Alberta Supports program, paid for the treatment of about 2,700 individuals, including about 200 recipients of the Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) program.
The change, the release said, will make residential addiction treatment available for “students, senior citizens, and people in the workforce who make too much to qualify for Income Support, but not enough to pay privately.”
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