Medi-Cal Coverage

If you have Medi-Cal in San Diego County, mental health and addiction treatment at Golden Coast Rehab can be covered — and you pay nothing out of pocket. You do not need to switch plans, and you do not need to know your plan's name to call us.

Call (858) 925-8589. Someone answers 24 hours a day. We will check your eligibility with you on the phone, in plain language, before you commit to anything.

What it costs

Nothing. There is no copay, no deductible, and no bill for covered treatment. Medi-Cal is California's Medicaid program, and behavioral health care delivered through the County's system carries no cost to the beneficiary. Housing help can work the same way for eligible members — see recuperative care and sober living through Medi-Cal.

If it turns out you are not currently eligible, we will say so directly and point you toward how to apply or where else to go. We do not start treatment and send a surprise bill later.

Who is eligible

Two things have to be true:

• You have active Medi-Cal coverage in San Diego County.
• You meet clinical criteria for the care you need — medical necessity for specialty mental health services, or Drug Medi-Cal Organized Delivery System (DMC-ODS) criteria for substance use treatment.

Our programs serve adults 18 and older. The second point is what the intake assessment is for: a short conversation with a clinician that determines which level of care fits. You do not have to figure that out on your own before you call.

Your Medi-Cal plan does not decide where you get this care

San Diego County has four Medi-Cal managed care plans:

• Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plan
• Community Health Group Partnership Plan
• Kaiser Permanente
• Molina Healthcare of California

Here is the part that surprises most people. Specialty Mental Health Services (SMHS) and substance use treatment under the DMC-ODS are carved out of those four plans entirely. They are not run by your managed care plan. They are administered by San Diego County Behavioral Health Services, with Optum Public Sector San Diego handling credentialing, authorizations, claims, and the provider directory on the County's behalf. Optum is not an insurer.

What that means for you: if you have Medi-Cal in San Diego County — any plan — and you meet clinical criteria, you can be served here. Your plan name is not a gate.

What Golden Coast Rehab provides, and under which authority

Specialty mental health: PHP and IOP

Golden Coast Rehab is a contracted provider of Specialty Mental Health Services (Partial Hospitalization Program and Intensive Outpatient Program) for the County of San Diego, Behavioral Health Services, under County Contract 575462. These programs serve adults 18 and older whose primary condition is a mental health condition.

Learn more about our Partial Hospitalization Program and our mental health Intensive Outpatient Program.

Substance use treatment: detox, outpatient, IOP, and MAT

Golden Coast Rehab holds California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) substance use disorder certification 370254AP, covering outpatient detoxification, outpatient treatment, intensive outpatient treatment, and medication-assisted treatment. See our addiction treatment programs.

These are two separate lanes with separate authorities, and we keep them separate on purpose. Our partial hospitalization program is a specialty mental health service only. We do not provide residential or inpatient treatment in either lane. When someone needs a level of care we do not offer, we say so and help find it.

How to start

1. Call. (858) 925-8589, any hour. Have your Medi-Cal card handy if you can find it — and if you cannot, we can still work with your name and date of birth.
2. We verify coverage. We confirm your Medi-Cal is active and that you are in San Diego County. This usually takes minutes, not days.
3. Brief assessment. A clinician talks with you about symptoms, history, and safety, and recommends a level of care.
4. Start date. If we are the right fit, we schedule your first day and tell you exactly what to bring. See Admissions.

If you are in crisis right now

The San Diego County Access and Crisis Line is available 24 hours a day at 1-888-724-7240. It is the County's front door for behavioral health, free and confidential, and it can connect you to urgent help whether or not you ever call us.

If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 988 or 911.

Common questions about Medi-Cal here

We answer these on the phone every day, so we have written them out below. If yours is not here, call and ask — there is no wrong question.