Drug addiction affects every race, age and gender. For drug addicted people 65 years or older, Medicare is an option to pay for some if not all of their drug treatment. Medicare insurance will pay for the treatment of drug addiction or alcoholism in both outpatient and inpatient settings, as long as a few key points are addressed. The addict must obtain treatment from a Medicare-participating facility or provider. The patient's doctor recommends that the services requested are medically necessary and that the patient's doctor creates the plan of treatment to be carried out. Also, Medicare will only cover a total of 190 days in a mental health hospital for the individual's entire lifetime.