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Partial hospitalization tends to come up in the space between a residential stay and a weekly therapy session, and the questions that follow are practical ones about hours, cost and who qualifies. This guide works through each of them, from the federal rules that define the level of care to the shape of a program day and what to check before enrolling.
Key Points About Partial Hospitalization Programs
- A PHP is structured day treatment for addiction: full days of care, then home instead of an overnight stay.
- Medicare covers PHP for substance use treatment when a provider certifies the person would otherwise need inpatient care.
- Program days pair group therapy with individual sessions, plus education, medication management and health checks; schedules vary.
- No fixed length applies: many programs last between a few days and a few weeks, and reviews set the end.
- The ASAM Criteria place PHP-level care at 2.5, and newer editions call it high-intensity outpatient care.
In This Article
- What Is a Partial Hospitalization Program?
- Who a PHP Is For
- What Happens in a PHP: A Typical Day
- PHP vs. IOP vs. Inpatient Rehab
- How Long Does a PHP Last?
- Does a PHP Work?
- Online and Virtual PHPs
- How Much Does a PHP Cost?
- How to Find a PHP Near You
- Frequently Asked Questions About Partial Hospitalization
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What Is a Partial Hospitalization Program?
A PHP, or partial hospitalization program, is intensive day treatment for addiction. You attend structured care all day and sleep at home. Medicare.gov calls partial hospitalization “a structured program that provides outpatient psychiatric services,” with days that “usually include between 4-8 hours of care each day” and a plan of care requiring “at least 20 hours of therapeutic services each week.”
A PHP is not inpatient. It is an outpatient level of care. The rule at 42 CFR 410.43 covers patients who “Do not require 24-hour care” and whose diagnosis is a mental health or substance use disorder, and CMS states that “Medicare covers PHP for the treatment of substance use disorders (SUD).”
The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) lists this intensity as Level 2.5. The third edition of The ASAM Criteria named it “Partial Hospitalization”; the fourth keeps 2.5 as “High-Intensity Outpatient” and adds Level 2.7, “Medically Managed Intensive Outpatient.”
In 2024, 11.4% of the admissions states report went to intensive outpatient care, the category that includes partial hospitalization, according to the Treatment Episode Data Set from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). SAMHSA counted 2,389 facilities offering day treatment or partial hospitalization, 15.0% of those surveyed.
Who a PHP Is For
A PHP fits someone who needs more structure than a weekly appointment or an intensive outpatient program, but not supervision overnight. It often works as a step down from inpatient or residential care, or a step up from outpatient treatment.
Medicare’s coverage rules set out who a PHP is designed to serve: a person who needs at least 20 hours of services a week, does not need 24-hour care, and carries a diagnosis of a mental health condition or a substance use disorder. They also ask whether a coordinated program is likely to help, whether support outside it is enough, whether the person is judged a danger to themselves or others, and whether they can take part in active treatment (42 CFR 410.43(c); 42 CFR 424.24(e)). A physician certifies that the person would otherwise need inpatient care.
Needs 20+ hours of care a week
Does not need 24-hour care
Has support at home
Can take part in treatment
Medically stablePlacement follows an assessment using the ASAM Criteria, which weighs needs across several dimensions.
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What Happens in a PHP: A Typical Day
A PHP day is mostly groups, with individual sessions, education groups, medication management and a health check worked in, then evenings at home. No two programs run the same schedule, so ask for a sample day when you call.
Medicare.gov describes partial hospitalization as a structured program that provides outpatient psychiatric services. The federal rule behind that coverage, 42 CFR 410.43, lists the services a program day must include: individual and group therapy, including sessions with substance use disorder professionals, occupational and activity therapy, psychiatric nursing, family counseling, patient education, medications and diagnostic services.
Two published schedules differ sharply. Piedmont Healthcare’s substance use disorder PHP runs six groups a day, Monday through Thursday from 8:15 a.m. until 2 p.m., with daily nursing. Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services describes groups on relapse prevention, managing emotions, coping with cravings and planning for aftercare.
The therapy mix leans on approaches the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) calls evidence based. Cognitive behavioral therapy works on the thoughts and situations that lead back to use. Contingency management rewards goals met, such as a negative drug test. Motivational interviewing draws on a person’s own reasons to change. Family therapy brings partners and parents into sessions. 12-step facilitation connects people to the fellowship meetings many keep attending after treatment ends. Psychoeducation explains what a substance use disorder is.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) and for alcohol use disorder (MAUD), a core part of medication-assisted treatment, and methadone comes through an opioid treatment program, not a prescription.
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PHP vs. IOP vs. Inpatient Rehab
What separates these levels is hours a week and where you sleep. Partial hospitalization runs longer than intensive outpatient care, at least 20 hours a week against 9 to 19, and, unlike residential or inpatient care, it sends you home at night.
Medicare sets coverage floors, not a program’s design: 42 CFR 424.24 requires at least 9 hours a week for intensive outpatient services and 20 for partial hospitalization, as CMS confirms. A physician also certifies that someone in a PHP would otherwise need inpatient treatment, then recertifies on day 18 and at least every 30 days. IOP review comes every 60 days.
The ASAM Criteria put intensive outpatient at Level 2.1 and partial hospitalization at 2.5, with residential care from 3.1 to 3.7 and hospital inpatient care at Level 4.
| Level of care | Hours per week | Where you live | Medicare review | Who it may fit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intensive outpatient (2.1) | 9 to 19 | At home | Every 60 days | Several sessions a week at home |
| Partial hospitalization (2.5) | 20 or more | At home | Day 18, then every 30 days | Full days, no overnight stay |
| Residential (3.1-3.7) | Day and night | On site | Not under these rules | Round-the-clock structure |
| Hospital inpatient (4) | Continuous | In a hospital | Not under these rules | Hospital-level medical care |
People move between them as needs change, often down from inpatient care to a PHP, then to IOP.
How Long Does a PHP Last?
There is no standard length. Many addiction PHPs last from a few days to a few weeks, and how long a stay runs depends on your progress, your care team’s review and your insurance.
Examples differ. Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services suggests five days, and as many as 10 when a clinician judges it warranted, while day hospital programs in a managed care study came in at roughly 2-3 weeks (Witbrodt et al., 2007).
Medicare reviews a stay instead of fixing a number. Under 42 CFR 424.24, the first recertification comes by day 18 of partial hospitalization services, and later reviews happen at least every 30 days. Each asks whether you still need that intensity of care, so a stay can end sooner or run longer than a program’s usual range.
A PHP often ends with a move to an intensive outpatient program or outpatient care, so support continues at a lower intensity. After treatment covers that transition.
Does a PHP Work?
The evidence compares levels of care. Witbrodt et al. (2007) followed randomized and self-selected Kaiser clients through day hospital and residential treatment, reporting “similar abstinence outcomes”. Attendance at 12-step meetings was also tied to abstinence in that study. Kaskutas et al. (2004) set day hospital treatment beside nonmedical day treatment and found abstinence similar across the two. Both looked at insured adults, and neither found one setting beating the other.
NIDA reached a comparable conclusion in 2018: intensive day treatment “can be comparable to residential programs in services and effectiveness”, adding that this depends on the individual.
Both studies predate 2024, so they reflect earlier samples rather than how programs run today. What they support is comparability, not a promise that a PHP will work for a given person. Which level of care fits still comes down to an assessment of the person’s needs.
Online and Virtual PHPs
Some programs run partial hospitalization by video, so you join groups and individual sessions from home rather than traveling to a site. A virtual program cannot examine you in person, so ask how it handles in-person medical checks, drug testing, a crisis that starts during a session, and help with the technology.
Evidence for substance use specifically is thin. The NABH/Manatt Health issue brief from 2023, a trade association publication, reports early findings of similar results in psychiatric and mixed programs, and the brief itself calls for further research. Because those reports pool more than one condition, they say little about how a video PHP performs in addiction treatment.
Medicare covers PHP when a hospital outpatient department or community mental health center furnishes it, according to CMS, and whether those rules reach video sessions is a question for the program and your plan.
How Much Does a PHP Cost?
No dependable national average exists for the cost of a partial hospitalization program to a patient.
As Medicare.gov explains, partial hospitalization for substance use disorders falls under Medicare when a provider certifies that the person would otherwise need inpatient treatment. Once you have met the Part B deductible, your share is “coinsurance for each day” you receive partial hospitalization services, along with a percentage of the bill for professional services. Meals, transportation, and job-skills training are not covered, and neither are support groups whose main purpose is socializing.
Medicaid coverage and limits vary by state. Most private plans cover partial hospitalization when it is medically necessary, often with prior authorization first, and HealthCare.gov places it inside the essential health benefit for mental health and substance use care.
What a program is paid is not what a patient owes: the per diem rate CMS pays for partial hospitalization is a provider payment, not a patient cost, according to its outpatient payment fact sheet.
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Medicare can cover rehab for addiction treatment, including certain detox, inpatient rehab, outpatient therapy, and medication-assisted treatment programs, as long as the services are medically necessary and provided by a Medicare-approved provider or facility. In 2026, Medicare continues to cover a wide range of behavioral health and ...
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Last Updated: June 5, 2026
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How to Find a PHP Near You
Look for a program that holds a license or accreditation and runs partial hospitalization for substance use disorders specifically, since many PHPs treat mental health conditions only. Five questions separate the options quickly, and a program’s own staff can answer all of them:
- Is medication for opioid use disorder or alcohol use disorder offered on site?
- Are co-occurring conditions, such as depression or anxiety, treated within the same program?
- Do the daily hours and the travel each way work with life at home?
- What comes after PHP: intensive outpatient care or standard outpatient?
- Does the program accept your insurance?
FindTreatment.gov lists treatment programs by location, and the SAMHSA National Helpline can talk through what fits. When a program answers, ask how its assessment works and how soon a place could open. In a crisis, call or text 988 for the Suicide Crisis Lifeline.
Frequently Asked Questions About Partial Hospitalization
PHP stands for partial hospitalization program. The partial refers to the care rather than to a stay: a full day of structured treatment, with no overnight component. In addiction treatment the acronym turns up on program pages, insurance paperwork and intake forms, and it means the same level of care each time.
No. A partial hospitalization program is an outpatient level of care, even when the day is long and the setting looks clinical. The federal conditions for partial hospitalization services, at 42 CFR 410.43, cover patients who do not require 24-hour care, and that is the line between this level and inpatient treatment. You go home at the end of each day.
A partial hospitalization day usually runs 4 to 8 hours, according to Medicare.gov, with a floor of at least 20 hours of therapeutic services a week under 42 CFR 424.24. The weekly minimum is a coverage rule rather than a description of any one program, so a program’s own days may run longer. Ask for a sample week before you arrange anything else around the schedule.
Usually not full time. Treatment fills the middle of the day, which collides with most standard work hours, so the answer depends on the schedule a program keeps. Some programs offer evening tracks, and a part-time role or an arrangement with an employer can fit around treatment. Ask about the hours before you plan a job around them.
Yes. Medicare covers partial hospitalization for substance use disorders, as CMS states, when a provider certifies that the person would otherwise need inpatient care. Coverage is not the same as no bill: after the Part B deductible, Medicare charges coinsurance for each day of partial hospitalization, plus a share of professional services.
The difference comes down to hours and review. PHP and IOP sit at different intensities: partial hospitalization means 20 or more hours a week, while intensive outpatient care runs 9 to 19 hours, per 42 CFR 424.24. Medicare also reviews a PHP sooner, recertifying by day 18 and at least every 30 days, against every 60 days for an IOP.
Yes. A PHP for alcohol use disorder works the way it does for any other substance use disorder: individual sessions and group sessions, education, medication management and medical and nursing care through the day, with no overnight stay. Medication for alcohol use disorder can be part of that plan, and a program’s own assessment decides what it offers alongside the schedule.
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