No campus on our roster sits inside Denver. The nearest campus offering medical detox is The Recovery Village Palmer Lake, on South Highway 105 in Palmer Lake, El Paso County, about 44 miles south of the city. We do run a closer site — Denver Mental Health and Counseling by The Recovery Village, roughly 13 miles out in Highlands Ranch — but its published services are outpatient, intensive outpatient and dual diagnosis care, so it is not where a detox happens. It is south of the city, up on the Palmer Divide, just off Interstate 25. That is the plain answer to “Denver drug detox”, and it belongs first.
This page covers six things. What medical detox is. Which drugs make supervised withdrawal a medical question. What the Palmer Lake campus runs. The drive from the Front Range. How the first three days tend to go. And what Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Colorado or Health First Colorado usually do about the bill. It closes with the part people skip: detox alone is not treatment. For the wider city picture, see our page on Denver.
What ‘medical detox’ means and what it does not
Medical detox is a supervised clearing of a drug from the body. Federal protocol splits it into three parts [2].
The first is evaluation. That means testing for substances in the blood, measuring how much is there, and screening for other mental and physical conditions [2].
The second is stabilization. That is the medical and social work of getting a person through acute intoxication and withdrawal to a stable, drug-free state [2].
The third is getting the person into treatment afterward. It is a formal part of detox, not a favor at the door [2].
What detox is not is treatment. The protocol says so directly: detoxification is not substance abuse treatment and rehabilitation [2]. The Surgeon General’s report agrees. It calls withdrawal management highly effective at preventing immediate and serious medical consequences, then adds that by itself it is not an effective treatment for any substance use disorder [4].
Keep that separation in mind. Detox buys a safe start. It does not decide week six.
Which substances need medically supervised withdrawal
Alcohol and sedatives are the two groups where withdrawal itself can kill. In severe alcohol dependence, seizures, delirium tremens, and dysregulation of body temperature, pulse and blood pressure can lead to fatal consequences [1].
Federal guidance is blunt about setting. For alcohol, sedative-hypnotic and opioid withdrawal, hospitalization or some form of 24-hour medical care is generally the preferred place to detox [1].
Opioids are different. Uncomplicated opioid withdrawal is not life-threatening [1]. It is still wretched, and that is what sends people back to use.
Stimulants are the group people most often assume needs nothing, and federal guidance does say that stimulant withdrawal usually does not involve medical danger or intense patient discomfort [1]. The same chapter names the danger that gets overlooked: an often overlooked but potentially lethal medical danger during stimulant withdrawal is the risk of a profound dysphoria — depression, negative thoughts and feelings — that may include suicidal ideas or attempts [1]. So the concern here is mood and safety rather than seizures, and it is a real one.
If someone is having a seizure, is unresponsive or has trouble breathing, call 911. For a mental health crisis, or if someone is talking about suicide, call or text 988.
None of that tells you which group you fall into. An assessment does. Our explainer on medical detox walks through the general shape.
Recovery Village Palmer Lake in Palmer Lake, CO: detox and the step into residential or inpatient treatment, partial hospitalization, intensive outpatient, outpatient care and aftercare
The Recovery Village Palmer Lake runs these levels of care on one site. Detox. Residential or inpatient care. Partial hospitalization. Intensive outpatient. Outpatient. Aftercare. In the campus’s own words it is an accredited facility offering a continuum of rehab programs, with care from medical and clinical professionals.
Having them in one place is the practical case for it. Federal protocol counts entry into ongoing care as part of detox itself [2]. That is far easier when the next step is down the hall.
The site sits at altitude in pine country on the Palmer Divide, between Denver and Colorado Springs. For some people, that gap from home is the point.
Our profile of The Recovery Village Palmer Lake sits alongside the campus’s own page. Our levels of care explainer sets out what each of those steps means.
Getting there from Denver
The route is simple. South on I-25 from Denver, past Castle Rock and Monument, then west into Palmer Lake on Highway 105. One road most of the way.
Drive it in daylight if you can, and plan for winter. The campus sits at altitude on the Palmer Divide, so check the forecast and current road conditions for the I-25 corridor before you set out, rather than assuming a Denver morning tells you what the drive south will be like.
Bring a driver. A person in early withdrawal should not be at the wheel. Admission days also run long.
If nobody can drive, say so on the first call. Transport is a solvable problem. It is also a common reason people stall for another month.
Families in Denver, Aurora, Lakewood and the north suburbs can reach the campus for a family session and be home that evening. That counts for a lot when the alternative is a flight.
If someone is having a seizure, is unresponsive or has trouble breathing, call 911. For a mental health crisis, call or text 988.
Medical detox for Denver residents, south on I-25
Of our two Colorado campuses, The Recovery Village Palmer Lake is the one that runs detox — about 44 miles south of Denver in a straight line, farther by road — and it also runs residential or inpatient treatment, partial hospitalization, intensive outpatient and outpatient care, with aftercare after that. The intake clinician works out first whether withdrawal needs medical supervision.
Check your coverage and admissions
Verify your insurance
The Recovery Village Palmer Lake is part of our family of treatment centers. See The Recovery Village Palmer Lake campus.
The first 24, 48 and 72 hours
Alcohol has the clearest clock. Acute alcohol withdrawal generally starts 6 to 24 hours after the last drink [1].
Day one is the restless, shaky part. Listed signs include restlessness, irritability, anxiety and agitation; loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting; tremor, a raised heart rate and higher blood pressure; and insomnia [1].
Day two is the seizure window. The majority of alcohol withdrawal seizures occur within the first 48 hours after drinking stops or is cut back, with peak incidence around 24 hours [1]. They can occur several days out, though at that point other causes deserve suspicion too [1].
Day three is watched closely because of what a seizure can lead to. Someone who has an alcohol withdrawal seizure is at greater risk of progressing to delirium tremens [1].
None of that is something to sit out at home and hope. If someone is having a seizure, is unresponsive or has trouble breathing, call 911. For a mental health crisis, call or text 988.
Other drugs run to other clocks. A past history of rough withdrawal changes the picture again. Our alcohol withdrawal timeline page goes deeper.
Detox medications and monitoring
Monitoring never stops. Federal protocol calls for medical surveillance, including checks on vital signs. It also calls for repeated assessment during detox, to see whether symptoms are easing or worsening [1].
In practice that means regular observations. A structured symptom score. A nurse who calls a prescriber when the numbers move. It is dull work, and dull is the aim.
Medicine may be used to manage withdrawal. Which one depends on the drug, the person’s health history and what else they take. A prescriber decides that in the room. No web page should hand a reader a drug name and an amount, and this one will not.
Ask any provider two questions. Which symptom scale do you use, and how often? What is your threshold for sending someone to a hospital? Good answers are specific.
What detox costs in Colorado and what Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Colorado and Health First Colorado typically do
A page that promises to talk about cost and then refuses to give a number is not much use, so start with the ranges this site publishes: medical detox at $250 to $800 a day, basic residential care at $2,000 to $20,000, and drug and alcohol rehab overall at $2,000 to $25,000 and up. Those are our own published ranges rather than federal figures. What you actually pay turns on the level of care, the length of stay and your plan, so any single figure quoted elsewhere online is a guess. The mechanism, though, is predictable.
We do not publish coverage figures for a named carrier, because the only accurate answer is the one your own plan gives. What is generally true of commercial plans is that a deductible applies first and coinsurance after it, and that approval is often required before inpatient withdrawal management — a requirement federal parity rules recognize as a form of care management they cover [5].
Federal parity law caps how far a plan may go. Copays, coinsurance and limits such as a visit cap cannot be more restrictive for substance use benefits than the rules applied to substantially all medical and surgical benefits in the same class [5]. Limits that exist only for substance use benefits are banned outright [5]. Parity has a scope worth knowing. It applies to non-federal governmental plans with more than 50 employees, to private employer group plans with more than 50 employees, and to individual-market coverage. Small-employer group plans are generally outside it, although non-grandfathered small-group and individual plans must cover mental health and substance use disorder services as an essential health benefit under the Affordable Care Act [5].
Health First Colorado is the state’s Medicaid program. The Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing sets its behavioral health benefits, which cover mental health and substance use across residential and inpatient, outpatient, community-based and crisis services [3]. The network and the rules differ from a commercial plan, so it is a different verification call.
Our pages on whether insurance covers rehab and what rehab costs show how the math usually falls out, and our Colorado treatment page covers what else the state has.
Detox is not treatment: what comes next for Denver residents
The riskiest day in this whole process is the one detox ends. Federal reporting is direct about it: one of the most serious consequences when people do not begin continuing care after withdrawal management is overdose, because withdrawal management reduces much of a person’s acquired tolerance, so anyone who returns to their former substance in the same amount or frequency can run into physical problems — and people with opioid use disorders may be left particularly vulnerable to overdose and even death [4]. The crisis has passed. The structure vanishes. That combination is what kills people.
That is why the continuum matters. Federal reporting describes an array of service options based on need [4]. Residential care is organized service in a 24-hour setting outside a hospital [4]. Partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient sit below it as step-down options, ranging from counseling and education to clinically intensive programming [4]. Outpatient care suits a mild to moderate substance use disorder, or continuing care after something heavier [4].
For a Denver resident the realistic order is detox at Palmer Lake, then residential care on the same campus, then a step down, then outpatient work back in town. Our inpatient rehab explainer covers the middle of that chain. Our guide to how to get into rehab covers the start.
Whatever the order, fix the next step before detox ends. That is the whole reason entry into ongoing care is built into detox in the first place [2].
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does medical detox take? It depends on the drug, the person and their health history, so no single number fits. Alcohol gives the clearest published picture. Federal protocol says acute alcohol withdrawal generally starts 6 to 24 hours after the last drink, and that the majority of withdrawal seizures occur within the first 48 hours. Your clinical team will give you a range once they have assessed you. If a seizure, confusion or a high fever appears during withdrawal, that is an emergency room now rather than an admissions call. If someone is having a seizure, is unresponsive or has trouble breathing, call 911. For a mental health crisis, call or text 988.
Is there a detox center in Denver? Not on our roster. The nearest campus we run that offers medical detox is The Recovery Village Palmer Lake, about 44 miles south of the city on the I-25 corridor in El Paso County. Our Highlands Ranch site is closer at roughly 13 miles, but its published services are outpatient, intensive outpatient and dual diagnosis care rather than detox. Palmer Lake also runs residential treatment, a partial hospitalization program, an intensive outpatient program, outpatient care and aftercare planning, so the step after detox happens on the same site.
Will Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield pay for detox near Denver? Often, though it turns on your specific plan, your deductible position and whether prior authorization is granted. Nobody can promise it in advance. Federal parity law does limit how much more restrictive a plan may be for substance use benefits than for medical and surgical benefits in the same class. Our admissions team verifies benefits with the carrier directly.
Can I do this without leaving the Denver area? Partly. Detox on our roster means Palmer Lake, about 44 miles south of the city. What sits closer is the step after it: our Highlands Ranch site, roughly 13 miles out, publishes outpatient, intensive outpatient and dual diagnosis care. Whether outpatient withdrawal management is safe for you is a clinical call rather than a scheduling one. Federal guidance says hospitalization or some form of 24-hour medical care is generally preferred for alcohol, sedative-hypnotic and opioid withdrawal, and lighter settings are used where an assessment finds lower risk. Raise the work and travel questions during that assessment rather than after it.
What does the step after detox look like for someone going back to Denver? Ideally the next level of care is booked before you leave. Withdrawal management is highly effective at preventing immediate and serious medical consequences, but by itself it is not an effective treatment for a substance use disorder. For a Denver resident the realistic order is detox at Palmer Lake, then residential care on the same campus, then a step down, then outpatient work back in town. The day detox ends carries real risk, which is why the handover is arranged early.
Sources
- Center for Substance Abuse Treatment. (2006). Detoxification and Substance Abuse Treatment, Chapter 4: Physical Detoxification Services for Withdrawal From Specific Substances. Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) Series, No. 45. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK64116/
- Center for Substance Abuse Treatment. (2006). Detoxification and Substance Abuse Treatment, Chapter 1: Overview, Essential Concepts, and Definitions in Detoxification. Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) Series, No. 45. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK64119/
- Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing. Behavioral Health. State of Colorado. https://hcpf.colorado.gov/behavioral-health
- Office of the Surgeon General. (2016). Early Intervention, Treatment, and Management of Substance Use Disorders. Facing Addiction in America: The Surgeon General’s Report on Alcohol, Drugs, and Health, Chapter 4. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK424859/
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA). CMS.gov. https://www.cms.gov/marketplace/private-health-insurance/mental-health-parity-addiction-equity
This page is for general information and is not medical advice. Only a licensed clinician who knows your history can tell you what is right for you. If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, call 911. For free, confidential support 24/7, call or text 988.
Author
Chief Medical Officer,
The Recovery Village
