Lloyd C Elam Mental Health Center
1820 Albion Street, Nashville
Payment accepted: not reported to SAMHSA
CARF accreditation (as reported to SAMHSA)
Listings from SAMHSA, November 5, 2026
Free and low-cost rehab in Tennessee
No insurance? You can still get treatment. Payment help, sliding fees and county, state or federal funds pay for care. Here, 308 programs are on the SAMHSA list.
Have your ZIP code and insurance card (or your loved one's) ready. This paid referral line is answered by a partner, not a listed program.
Where to start: programs with low-cost options
12 of 308 listings; SAMHSA FindTreatment.gov, November 5, 2026. Programs reporting more services first, then the rest A–Z. Programs never pay for a spot; a partner pays for our referral line. How we sort.
Showing 12 of 12
Where to begin? Call (423) 509-6280 This paid referral line is answered by a partner, not a listed program.
Hermitage Comprehensive Treatment Center
589 Stewarts Ferry Pike, Nashville
Payment accepted: Medicaid · Medicare · Commercial insurance
CARF accreditation (as reported to SAMHSA)
Samaritan Recovery Community
410 South 5th Street, Nashville
Payment accepted: Medicaid · Commercial insurance · Income-based fee
CARF accreditation (as reported to SAMHSA)
BHG Nashville Treatment Center
342 22nd Avenue North, Nashville
Payment accepted: Medicaid · Medicare · Commercial insurance
Joint Commission accreditation (as reported to SAMHSA)
River Valley Health
815 West 5th North Street, Morristown
Payment accepted: Medicaid · Medicare · Commercial insurance
Professional Care Services Inc
403 Commerce Street, Ripley
Payment accepted: Medicaid · Medicare · Commercial insurance
CARF accreditation (as reported to SAMHSA)
Helen Ross McNabb
1704 East Broadway Avenue, Maryville
Payment accepted: Medicaid · Medicare · Commercial insurance
CARF accreditation (as reported to SAMHSA)
River Valley Health
4330 Maynardville Highway, Maynardville
Payment accepted: Medicaid · Medicare · Commercial insurance
WestCare Tennessee Outpatient Clinic
203 West Main Street, Dandridge
Payment accepted: Income-based fee
Comprehensive Community Services
710 East Sullivan Street, Kingsport
Payment accepted: Medicaid · Commercial insurance
CARF accreditation (as reported to SAMHSA)
Healing Arts Research Training Center
1384 Madison Avenue, Memphis
Payment accepted: Medicaid · Commercial insurance
Pathways of Tennessee Inc
33 Directors Row, Jackson
Payment accepted: Medicaid · Medicare · Commercial insurance
Our facility data comes from public agencies, not from advertisers
SAMHSAThe national treatment locator
TDMHSASAddiction services for the state
NIDAResearch on treatment
988 Lifeline24/7 crisis line
CARFAccredits programs
ASAMCriteria for levels of care
Short answer
In Tennessee, 149 programs have a sliding fee scale. Public funding is reported by 297, and 175 help you pay. That makes 308 programs in all. Most of them are in Memphis (30), Knoxville (21) and Nashville (19). Source: SAMHSA locator (November 5, 2026)[1].
In short
- Residential care: 51. Detox: 26. Medication for opioid use: 136.
- 149 set fees on a sliding scale too, and 175 can help you with payment.
- Teens are accepted at 162, and 18 serve clients in Spanish.
What free and low-cost care includes
77%of Tennessee programs
The Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services contracts with community providers to treat people who have no insurance and no means to pay, from detox and residential care to outpatient treatment and medication for opioid use disorder.
Here are the Tennessee numbers. 149 listed programs have a sliding fee scale. 297 say they have county, state or federal funds for people who can't pay. 175 offer help with payment. Some programs get money from the federal Substance Use Block Grant. These must put two groups first: pregnant women and people who inject drugs.
Of these programs, 266 also accept Medicaid. Do you qualify? Then Medicaid coverage gives you more choices. First, get the price. Then enter it in the cost calculator; the self-check shows you which level of care to ask for.
Before you go: what to ask
Is there a sliding fee? What income proof should I bring?
Usually that means a pay stub, a benefits letter or a tax return.Are any of your places paid for by the state or county?
Ask if those places have a waiting list.What is in the price?
Sometimes detox, medication, lab tests and psychiatric visits cost extra.Can I pay a little at a time?
Many programs will set up a payment plan with you.Will your staff help me apply for Medicaid?
At many programs, staff will help you with the application.
Levels of care at these programs
Of these 308, 26 offer detox and 51 offer residential care. 288 offer outpatient care, and 136 give medication for opioid use disorder.
Which program should you ask first? Call (423) 509-6280 This paid referral line is answered by a partner, not a listed program.
Who the programs are for
162take children and teens
162 of these 308 facilities take children and teens. 73 run programs for veterans, and 18 serve people in Spanish.
Ages served
Seen most often: Young Adults (297 of 308), Seniors (297 of 308) and Adults (269 of 308).
Groups these programs serve
Seen most often: People with both a mental health and a substance use disorder (206 of 308), Clients who have experienced trauma (132 of 308) and Court-referred clients (not DUI/DWI) (105 of 308).
Languages besides English
Seen most often: Sign language for deaf and hard-of-hearing clients (97 of 308), Spanish (18 of 308) and Other languages (excluding Spanish) (1 of 308).
Care settings and aftercare support
Each program reports where it gives care and what help it offers after you leave.
Care settings
Seen most often: Outpatient (288 of 308), Regular outpatient treatment (151 of 308) and Outpatient MAT (methadone, buprenorphine or naltrexone) (114 of 308).
Support once treatment ends
Seen most often: Mentoring/peer support (185 of 308), Housing services (169 of 308) and Assistance with obtaining social services (152 of 308).
Opioid use medications
Seen most often: Buprenorphine used in Treatment (111 of 308), Naltrexone used in Treatment (101 of 308) and Methadone used in Treatment (13 of 308).
Therapy approaches
Seen most often: Cognitive behavioral therapy (300 of 308), Telemedicine/telehealth therapy (264 of 308) and Substance use disorder counseling (176 of 308).
Where to look in Tennessee
| City | Accept | All programs | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Memphis | 30 | 34 | 88% |
| Knoxville | 21 | 27 | 78% |
| Nashville | 19 | 33 | 58% |
| Chattanooga | 13 | 19 | 68% |
| Jackson | 11 | 13 | 85% |
| Johnson City | 11 | 14 | 79% |
| Kingsport | 8 | 10 | 80% |
| Cleveland | 6 | 7 | 86% |
| Columbia | 6 | 7 | 86% |
| Dyersburg | 6 | 7 | 86% |
| Franklin | 6 | 7 | 86% |
| Morristown | 5 | 7 | 71% |
Distance from each county to a program with low-cost options
0counties where a program with low-cost options is over 30 miles away
Here is how we checked distance. Start from the middle of each of Tennessee's 95 counties. Then we found the closest listed facility with low-cost options, in a straight line. For the median county, the closest one is 3.3 miles away; 0 counties are over 30 miles away.
Counties with the longest trip
| County | Distance, miles |
|---|---|
| DeKalb County | 19.6 |
| Cannon County | 19.1 |
| Polk County | 19.0 |
| Hickman County | 18.6 |
| Humphreys County | 18.1 |
| Jackson County | 16.3 |
| Van Buren County | 16.1 |
| Smith County | 15.7 |
No free place open right now?
Get on the waiting list, and ask about interim services.
While you wait, programs paid by the block grant offer counseling or medication.Don't wait to apply for Medicaid.
Tennessee has not expanded Medicaid, so TennCare covers adults only in certain groups, such as parents and caretakers, pregnant women, and people who are aged, blind or disabled. For members, TennCare covers addiction treatment, including medication for opioid use disorder, and since October 2025 short residential stays of up to 30 days a year for adults 21 to 64.Talk to the program.
Ask them which nearby programs get public funding, and how you apply.
Where to begin?
Find out which programs have sliding fees or public funding. Then ask how to apply.
This paid referral line is answered by a partner, not a listed program.
More ways these programs accept payment
Your coverage can change while you are in treatment. So it helps that many programs accept more than one way to pay. Of these 308, 292 accept cash too, and 149 offer a sliding fee scale.
What payment they take
Non-profit or for-profit
Non-profits run 186 of them; for-profit companies run 120.
Sources we used
- Facility payment data: SAMHSA FindTreatment.gov. findtreatment.gov
- SUPTRS Block Grant: Substance Use Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Services — SAMHSA www.samhsa.gov
- Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. www.tn.gov
- TennCare. www.tn.gov
- Mental health and substance use disorder parity — U.S. Department of Labor www.dol.gov
- Mental health and substance abuse coverage — HealthCare.gov (CMS) www.healthcare.gov
- The ASAM Criteria — ASAM www.asam.org
We took the facility counts from the SAMHSA snapshot dated November 5, 2026.
The Tennessee Rehab editors checked this page against the sources above on November 5, 2026. How this site works.
Pass this page on:
Care without insurance: what people ask
Common questions
How many rehabs in Tennessee take people without insurance?
308 of the 402 facilities in Tennessee appear on SAMHSA's locator (November 5, 2026). Residential care is offered by 51 of them, detox by 26.
How does a sliding fee scale work?
Your fee is set by your income and the size of your household. You bring proof of income, like a pay stub or tax return. Then the program sets your fee.
Who goes first for places paid with public money?
If a program gets federal Substance Use Block Grant money, it must admit two groups first: pregnant women and people who inject drugs. Everyone else usually waits their turn, so a waiting list can form.
Which city has the most centers?
Memphis leads with 30. For the top cities and each city's share of programs, see the table above.
Can I pay some other way?
Read about Medicaid, private insurance, Medicare, TRICARE, or estimate your share using the cost calculator.
Still working out how to cover rehab in Tennessee?
Ask the programs listed above which plans they accept. Or call the referral line.
Call (423) 509-6280
This paid referral line is answered by a partner, not a listed program.
How to pay for rehab