The Affordable Care Act (ACA), which went into effect on October 1, may bring some hope to people who want treatment for alcohol and substance abuse.
Otherwise known as Obamacare, the new law defines drug and alcohol abuse as “chronic diseases.” This classification requires insurance plans to cover drug and alcohol treatment and allows healthcare providers to bill for addiction screenings and treatment services.
The definition was prompted in part by the high national costs of health care related to addiction and substance abuse. As shown in this infographic, in 2012 over 1 million hospitalizations and 4 million ER visits were related to alcohol consumption. In total, expenses due to alcohol and drug misuse have reached $120 billion annually across our health-care system. Providing affordable and wider access to treatment may reduce expensive ER and hospital visits, and encourage people to seek treatment sooner.
The California Health Report estimates that 40 million people could enter drug and alcohol treatment because of this change. And in addition to requiring insurance plans to cover treatment, the California Health Report notes that the ACA “encourages medical providers to screen for problem drinking and drug use while allowing them to bill for doing it.”
This summer the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) issued a recommendation that health-care providers should “screen all adults 18 and older for alcohol misuse and provide individuals engaged in risky or hazardous drinking with brief behavioral counseling to reduce alcohol misuse.” The belief is that screening patients for unsafe behavior in a primary care setting will allow doctors to spot issues and help patients address alcohol misuse earlier.
Some hope that by making drug and alcohol treatment more readily available, and by encouraging doctors to actively screen for problems, addiction and substance misuse will eventually be seen more as health issues rather than as moral failings.
What do you think?
I think the key to success is having access to quality treatment, defined as evidence-based practice(s) implemented with a high degree of fidelity and provided by a trained and qualified professional. There is plenty of room for improvement on all three dimensions: program, implementation and staff.
While I’m sure all intentions here are good hearted and pure, there seems to be a fundamental part of addiction that is being forgotten. No amount of screening processes and early intervention can turn an alcoholic. It’s only until one hits bottom that they can earnestly make a change for the better. Hopefully, I’m proved wrong about this and that the screenings prevent future alcoholics from becoming full blown train wrecks, but I don’t have high hopes.
I am thrilled that our health care plan will address this issue. Currently an alcoholic may want to get help but the costs are prohibitive. Whether “hitting bottom” is the catalyst or it’s the doctor’s advice, etc., once a decision is made to get help, the next step is the “help”. I am relieved to think that help might soon be so accessible. Besides Miranda, the doctor wont be forcing the alcoholic to go to treatment – they will be making a recommendation. It is still up to the alcoholic to choose that option when they are ready.
I think if an alcoholic has the right to deny treatment it should become mental abuse for those around that person. I believe an alcoholc/ drug addict can not think about anything
Never mind to get and stay with help…