Substance Use Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP) in San Diego for Medi-Cal Adults

A substance use Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP) is structured day treatment for addiction: clinical programming most of the day, several days a week, while you sleep at home. It sits one step above intensive outpatient care and one step below residential treatment. Golden Coast Rehab in La Mesa is licensed to provide this level of care for substance use. We are not enrolling a substance use PHP track yet, and we would rather say that plainly than let you find out on the phone.

This page explains what the program is, where it stands today, and what we do offer right now for someone who needs that much structure.

Where the Substance Use PHP Stands Today

Two things are true at once. Golden Coast Rehab holds the licensing to deliver partial hospitalization for substance use disorders. And the Partial Hospitalization Program running in our building today is a specialty mental health service, delivered under County of San Diego Contract 575462, for adults whose primary condition is a mental health condition. When the substance use track opens for enrollment, this page will say so and our admissions team will begin placing people in it after assessment.

Substance use care at Golden Coast Rehab is currently provided at four levels under DHCS certification 370254AP: outpatient detox, intensive outpatient, outpatient, and medication-assisted treatment. We do not provide residential or inpatient treatment.

What a Substance Use PHP Is For

Partial hospitalization is for people whose substance use is serious enough that a few sessions a week is not enough structure, but who do not need medical supervision overnight. In practice that includes:

• People stepping down from a residential program or a hospital stay who are not yet ready for the looser schedule of IOP.
• People who have relapsed repeatedly at the outpatient level and need a full day of treatment to interrupt the pattern.
• People completing outpatient detox whose early recovery is fragile enough that daily contact matters.

The clinical content is the same evidence base used across our programs: group therapy, individual therapy, relapse prevention, and, where indicated, FDA-approved medication for opioid or alcohol use disorder. The difference is dose. A PHP day runs most of the day; an IOP day runs a morning.

What We Offer Right Now If You Need That Much Structure

If you call today and an assessment shows you need day-treatment-level care for substance use, here is what happens. If a mental health condition is the primary driver, our mental health PHP may be the right fit, with substance use addressed by the same clinical team; our dual diagnosis page explains how that works. If substance use is primary, we will look at whether intensive outpatient paired with medication-assisted treatment gives you enough support. If it does not, we will say so and help you find a PHP or residential program that fits, through the San Diego County system.

That is the same rule we apply everywhere: when someone needs a level of care we are not delivering, we tell them at assessment and help them find it.

How Coverage Works

Substance use treatment for Medi-Cal members in San Diego County runs through the Drug Medi-Cal Organized Delivery System (DMC-ODS), administered by the County rather than by your managed care plan. Your card can say Blue Shield Promise, Community Health Group, Kaiser Permanente, or Molina; substance use care is authorized the same way for all four. The levels we deliver today are covered at no cost to most members when clinical criteria are met. See how Medi-Cal works here.

How to Start

One call handles insurance, assessment, and placement: (858) 925-8589, answered 24 hours a day. You can also begin with insurance verification and we will call you back. If you are in crisis, the San Diego County Access and Crisis Line is available around the clock at 1-888-724-7240. If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 988 or 911.