STAR Council

STAR Council (Decatur, TX) is a SAMHSA Behavioral Health Treatment Services Locator-registered facility. The facility's programming is outpatient (Outpatient), not residential. Evaluation of this facility against current clinical standards should encompass ASAM 4e framework alignment, MAT policy, and payer-specific network status.

Care levels at STAR Council

STAR Council is an outpatient-focused program (Outpatient) — patients live at home or in sober living and attend treatment sessions. This level of care is clinically appropriate for mild-to-moderate substance use disorder, or for patients stepping down from residential. ASAM Criteria 4e level-of-care matching requires clinical assessment across six dimensions (withdrawal potential, biomedical conditions, emotional/behavioral/cognitive conditions, readiness, relapse risk, recovery environment). The alignment of STAR Council's offerings to any specific patient's clinical profile should be determined by an independent ASAM-aligned assessment prior to admission.

Insurance and payment

STAR Council accepts both Medicaid and commercial insurance, which is the broadest payer profile and typically correlates with programs that operate at scale across the economic spectrum. Benefit verification should be obtained in writing prior to admission and should document: network contract status for the specific insurance product, prior authorization requirements and approved day-count, applicable cost-sharing structure, and out-of-network secondary coverage (where applicable). Proceeding on verbal VOB creates material risk of post-admission benefit dispute.

Specialty programming

The facility's documented specialty programming includes: Adult women, Pregnant/postpartum women, Adult men. Specialty-program verification requires review of: (a) dedicated specialty-track programming hours per week; (b) specialty-credentialed clinical staffing (e.g., LCSW with trauma specialization, perinatal-nurse certification, adolescent-development training); (c) specialty-specific clinical assessment protocols; (d) specialty-specific outcome measurement. Marketing designation alone is insufficient for clinical confidence.

Before you call

Pre-admission documentation for STAR Council should include ASAM-framework level-of-care justification, plan-specific Verification of Benefits with network-contract confirmation, written MAT policy for opioid use disorder patients where applicable, and licensure/accreditation verification. If the clinical situation involves opioid use disorder, confirm explicitly whether STAR Council offers medication-assisted treatment — buprenorphine, methadone, or naltrexone. Programs that do not are operating outside the current standard of care.