Saving Money on ADHD Treatment

Before you assume that sticking with your ADHD treatment has to severely strain your monthly budget, consider this: Most of what you can do to manage ADHD doesn’t cost a dime. And the things that do cost money, such as co-pays and ADHD medications, can be managed strategically.

Keep in mind that you will do better at creating and implementing a strategy if you keep your ADHD under control.

Here’s your low-budget plan for ADHD treatment:

• Get the right diagnoses. The attention problems that most people think of as warranting an ADHD diagnosis may actually have their roots in another mood disorder or health problem. For example, “People with obstructive sleep apnea show up with a lot of attention problems,” says neuropsychologist Carol C. Persad, PhD, a clinical assistant professor in the department of psychiatry at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. “It’s important to have a full evaluation.” Getting an evaluation done might be an added cost up front, but it will save you money in the long run if you get the root attention problems treated first.
• Understand your health coverage. You may save yourself some money, especially unintended costs, by closely following the rules of your health coverage program. Get referrals if they are needed and make sure your care providers are in your plan’s network. You may be surprised by what you learn. Persad points out that in Michigan, where she practices, ADHD treatment is almost completely covered under the medical side of health care, not the mental health side.
• Ask about sliding scale fees. Talk to the clinics and care providers in your area to find the ones that will work with you on a payment plan or a sliding scale fee schedule, which charges fees based on your ability to pay.
• Go generic. Most ADHD drugs are available as generics. If you are not sure whether your doctor has prescribed a generic or whether you have that option, talk to your pharmacist or your clinic.
• Check out drug manufacturers’ Web sites. Drug companies often have discount programs for lower income households. Go online or ask your doctor to put you in touch with the drug company representatives in your area and then talk directly to them. Keep in mind that, in order to take ADHD medications, you will have to schedule periodic office visits. “Most ADHD meds have to be renewed in person if they are Schedule II drugs, like the stimulants,” says psychologist Russ Barkley, PhD, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at SUNY Upstate in Syracuse, N.Y. and author of Taking Charge of Adult ADHD (Guilford Publications, 2010).
• Join or form a counseling group. If individual therapy is beyond your budget, consider finding others with adult ADHD for group counseling. “Groups are cheaper,” says Barkley.
• Try a self-help book. “Get some of the books on ADHD and relationships and on money, and plow through them for self-help suggestions,” advises Barkley.