|
Dear Anonymous,
Of the 70% of Americans insured by private
health plans, few receive benefits for addiction
treatment on par with other diseases. Unfortunately,
most addicts die untreated. This is largely
due to four factors that shape health plan
coverage of addiction treatment: 1) annual
and lifetime caps that are unequal to that
of other diseases; 2) more restrictive visit
limits than other diseases; 3) higher co-pays
and deductibles for employees and their families
seeking to heal from addiction; and 4) arbitrary,
often undisclosed criteria used by insurers
and employers to determine whether treatment
services are "medically necessary."
Maybe things will change.
On March 22, 2001, Senator Paul Wellstone
(D-MN) and Congressman Jim Ramstad, (R-MN)
were joined by Minority Leader Tom Daschle
(D-SD) and a bipartisan group of members in
both chambers, to take important first steps
to ending the outdated U.S. drug policies
of the 1990's by introducing legislation entitled,
"Fairness in Treatment: The Drug and
Alcohol Addiction Recovery Act of 2001"
which would remove these restrictions and
mark the beginning of a new social health
movement among leaders seeking to bring a
greater public health focus to the nation's
drug policy debate.
Addiction is the number one
health problem in America-and no disease costs
society more. The Center for Alcohol and Addiction
Studies at Brown University points out that
untreated addiction costs six times more than
America's number one killer, heart disease
($133.2 B), six times more than diabetes ($130B)
and four times more than cancer ($96.1B).
Fair access to treatment for families afflicted
by addictive disease will reduce the nation's
current $400 B tab for incarceration, alcohol-related
accidents on the nation's highways and workplaces;
and the escalating health costs that result
from untreated alcoholism and other drug addiction.
What about the so-called "high
costs" involved in treating victims of
addictive illnesses? "The opponents of
this initiative will try to scare consumers
with tall tales of huge premium increases,"
said John Schwarzlose, President of the Betty
Ford Center. "The facts don't support
such claims. Studies have found that with
addiction treatment, health care costs drop
by 50% for the recovering individual and their
family."
Addiction, untreated, is a
major cost to health plans, employers, and
the nation as a whole. A Chevron study found
that $10 is saved for every $1 spent on employee
rehabilitation. Another study found that individuals
treated for alcohol dependency for a year
were 50 percent less likely to seek medical
services and 60 percent less likely to seek
psychiatric services. About 65 percent of
all emergency visits in the U.S. are alcohol
and drug related. A 1996 President's Commission
on Model State Drug Laws also found absenteeism,
disability days and disciplinary actions all
decreased by more than 50 percent after treatment.
Actuarial studies show that
full parity for substance abuse treatment
increases insurance premiums by less than
1%; less than $1 per family, per month. For
about the cost of a cup of coffee, Americans
can help millions of people dependent on alcohol
and drugs return to a productive life. Will
the "compassionate" Bush Administration
support to this bill? We'll see!!
|
