Inpatient Drug Rehab in Texas

Inpatient drug rehab means staying overnight in a treatment setting where care continues 24 hours a day. In Texas, that covers two kinds of places: hospital-based programs that provide medically managed detox and stabilization, and residential treatment centers where people live for weeks while they work on recovery. Families usually start searching for inpatient care after an overdose, a medical scare, or a run of failed attempts to quit on an outpatient basis.

This page explains the difference between hospital inpatient and residential inpatient care, when each makes sense, what Texas rules require of the programs, and how insurance prior authorization works for inpatient stays. Inpatient programs are listed by region, county and city below, closest first.

Hospital inpatient vs residential inpatient

People use "inpatient rehab" for both, but they're different levels of care. NIAAA describes intensive inpatient care as medically directed, 24-hour services that may manage withdrawal, and residential care as a low- or high-intensity program in a 24-hour setting. Hospital and acute inpatient units handle the medically complicated part: severe withdrawal, overdose recovery, unstable medical or psychiatric conditions. Residential programs handle the longer work of treatment once someone is medically stable.

Many people move from one to the other: a few days of hospital or inpatient detox, then a residential stay, then outpatient care. When you call programs, ask which level they provide and whether they can arrange the next step.

When inpatient care is the right call

• Withdrawal that could be dangerous, especially from alcohol, benzodiazepines or heavy daily opioid use, or a history of withdrawal seizures.
• A recent overdose, or use of fentanyl-contaminated drugs.
• Medical problems that complicate withdrawal, such as heart, liver or lung disease, or pregnancy.
• Mental health symptoms such as suicidal thoughts, psychosis or severe depression alongside drug use.
• Repeated relapse after outpatient treatment, or a home where drugs are present.

If someone is in immediate danger, call 911. For a mental health or substance use crisis, call or text 988, or your county's local mental health authority crisis line on our Texas crisis help page.

What Texas requires of inpatient detox and residential programs

HHSC licenses Texas addiction treatment programs under Health and Safety Code Chapter 464 and the rules in 26 Texas Administrative Code Chapter 564. Detox programs must have a physician medical director, follow nationally recognized withdrawal protocols, complete a face-to-face history and physical with signed admission orders within 24 hours, keep a physician on call at all times, have a licensed nurse on duty at least eight hours every day, and monitor withdrawal symptoms, vital signs and mental status every four hours for the first 72 hours. Residential detox must guarantee continuous access to emergency medical care.

Residential treatment programs must provide round-the-clock care with awake staff on site at all hours; intensive residential programs average at least 30 hours of services per client each week. Verify any program's license through the HHSC chemical dependency treatment facility page.

Inpatient Drug Rehab in Texas at a glance

Counts come from this directory, which combines the SAMHSA National Directory of Substance Use Treatment Facilities with public business listings. "Confirmed" programs are those whose SAMHSA service codes or listings show residential, inpatient or detox care; 64 report accepting private health insurance in the SAMHSA directory. Always confirm services directly.

Insurance and prior authorization for inpatient stays

Inpatient stays almost always need prior authorization, and plans review medical necessity as the stay goes on. Several carriers' published guidance lists inpatient detox and residential substance use treatment among services that require it. Don't let that stop you: in an emergency, go to the nearest hospital; for a planned admission, the program's admissions team usually handles the authorization with your member ID.

Texas Insurance Code Chapter 1368 requires group plans to cover chemical dependency treatment on terms no less favorable than physical illness, and state and federal parity laws mean prior authorization rules for substance use care can't be stricter than for comparable medical care.

Major Texas carriers and inpatient drug rehab

Plan rules vary, and self-funded employer plans can differ. Always confirm benefits with the member services number on your ID card.

Denied? Ask for the plan's reason and its medical necessity criteria in writing, file an internal appeal, and request independent external review if the appeal fails. Our Texas insurance guide covers how.

Choosing an inpatient program in Texas

• Ask what level of care the program is licensed for: detox, intensive residential, supportive residential or a hospital unit.
• Ask how the program handles medical emergencies, especially at night.
• For opioid use disorder, ask whether the program continues or starts medications such as buprenorphine, and how it hands off prescribing after discharge.
• Confirm network status and prior authorization before you go.
• Ask what happens after the inpatient stay, and get the plan in writing.

Inpatient Drug Rehab by region

Texas's Health and Human Services Commission organizes services into 11 health service regions. Here's where inpatient drug rehab programs on our list are located.

Overdose, naloxone and the Texas Good Samaritan law

If you're searching for inpatient care after an overdose, two things can save a life while you arrange treatment. First, keep naloxone (Narcan) in the home. The FDA approved naloxone nasal spray for over-the-counter sale in 2023, so it's available without a prescription at many pharmacies and often free through community programs. Texas law also lets prescribers prescribe opioid antagonists to family and friends of someone at risk. Second, call 911 during an overdose. Texas's 2021 overdose law (H.B. 1694) created a defense to prosecution for possessing a small amount of drugs for the first person who calls 911 for an overdose, stays until help arrives and cooperates, and for the person who overdosed. The defense has limits, including for people with prior drug convictions or who used the defense recently, but the message is simple: call.

What families can do while a loved one is inpatient

Use the time to plan. Ask the treatment team about the discharge date, the recommended next level of care and whether medication for opioid use disorder will continue. Line up the outpatient program, sober living if needed and your own support. Inpatient stays are short; the weeks after discharge are when relapse and overdose risk are highest, especially after tolerance has dropped.

Find inpatient drug rehab near you

Inpatient Drug Rehab in Texas's largest cities

• Dallas (123 within 25 mi)
• Houston (118 within 25 mi)
• San Antonio (41 within 25 mi)
• Austin (67 within 25 mi)
• Fort Worth (69 within 25 mi)
• El Paso (19 within 25 mi)
• McAllen (18 within 25 mi)
• Denton (47 within 25 mi)
• Arlington (103 within 25 mi)
• Corpus Christi (13 within 25 mi)
• Plano (117 within 25 mi)
• Lubbock (12 within 25 mi)
• Laredo (5 within 25 mi)
• McKinney (72 within 25 mi)
• Killeen (12 within 25 mi)
• Garland (116 within 25 mi)
• Irving (150 within 25 mi)
• Brownsville (11 within 25 mi)
• College Station (5 within 25 mi)
• Amarillo (9 within 25 mi)
• Frisco (99 within 25 mi)
• Grand Prairie (120 within 25 mi)
• Waco (10 within 25 mi)
• Odessa (12 within 25 mi)
• Midland (12 within 25 mi)
• Port Arthur (15 within 25 mi)
• Pasadena (108 within 25 mi)
• Beaumont (15 within 25 mi)
• Tyler (14 within 25 mi)
• Mesquite (86 within 25 mi)

Inpatient Drug Rehab programs across Texas

One program from each of several Texas counties, confirmed programs first. Use the county and city links for the closest options to you.

Inpatient Drug Rehab by county

• Harris County (103)
• Dallas County (65)
• Tarrant County (52)
• Travis County (42)
• Bexar County (40)
• Collin County (37)
• Denton County (24)
• Fort Bend County (22)
• Brazoria County (20)
• El Paso County (19)
• Hidalgo County (18)
• Williamson County (18)
• Galveston County (15)
• Montgomery County (14)
• Jefferson County (14)
• Hays County (13)
• Bell County (12)
• Smith County (12)
• Lubbock County (12)
• Cameron County (11)
• Nueces County (11)
• McLennan County (10)
• Wichita County (8)
• Grayson County (8)
• Ector County (8)
• Bastrop County (8)
• Kaufman County (7)
• Potter County (6)
• Johnson County (6)
• Taylor County (6)
• Ellis County (6)
• Parker County (5)
• Kerr County (5)
• Comal County (5)
• Tom Green County (5)
• Brazos County (5)
• Webb County (5)
• Gregg County (4)
• Angelina County (4)
• Midland County (4)
• Liberty County (3)
• Bowie County (3)
• Hale County (3)
• Henderson County (3)
• Rockwall County (3)
• Waller County (3)
• San Patricio County (3)
• Gonzales County (3)
• Randall County (3)
• Harrison County (3)
• Starr County (2)
• Walker County (2)
• Chambers County (2)
• Hamilton County (2)
• Hunt County (2)
• Hutchinson County (2)
• Austin County (2)
• Hill County (2)
• Palo Pinto County (2)
• Bandera County (2)
• Wood County (2)
• Nacogdoches County (2)
• Wilbarger County (2)
• Val Verde County (2)
• Lamar County (2)
• Victoria County (2)
• Zapata County (2)
• Brown County (2)
• Cherokee County (2)
• Howard County (2)
• Matagorda County (2)
• Anderson County (2)
• Gillespie County (2)
• Washington County (2)
• Ochiltree County (2)
• Wilson County (1)
• Brewster County (1)
• Navarro County (1)
• Bee County (1)
• Deaf Smith County (1)
• Rusk County (1)
• Bailey County (1)
• Van Zandt County (1)
• Hardin County (1)
• Upshur County (1)
• Pecos County (1)
• Gray County (1)
• Caldwell County (1)
• Falls County (1)
• Madison County (1)
• Willacy County (1)
• Wise County (1)
• Tyler County (1)
• Moore County (1)
• Cooke County (1)
• Limestone County (1)
• Kendall County (1)
• Kleberg County (1)
• Erath County (1)
• Hardeman County (1)
• Orange County (1)
• Maverick County (1)
• Wharton County (1)
• Burnet County (1)
• Uvalde County (1)
• Panola County (1)
• Fayette County (1)
• Polk County (1)

Don't see your county? Every county has a page with the nearest programs: browse all 254 Texas counties.

Other types of care

Related guides

• Inpatient vs Residential Rehab: What's the Difference?
• How to Choose a Rehab in Texas: Questions, Licenses and Red Flags
• How to Check a Texas Rehab License (and File a Complaint)
• Paying for Rehab in Texas: Insurance, Parity Law and Appeals
• The Texas Good Samaritan Overdose Law and Naloxone: What Families Should Know
• Medical Detox in Texas: What to Expect, Day by Day

This page is general information, not medical or legal advice. Confirm services, licensing and insurance directly with any program.