 |
 |
|
|
In the bipartisan spirit that has become a trademark of his tenure, Democratic Senator Paul Wellstone joined fellow Minnesotan Representative Jim Ramstad, a Republican, to cosponsor legislation that would ensure that health plans covering substance abuse treatment pay for that treatment at parity with that for other medical conditions.
Wellstone and Ramstad held a press conference September 4 on Capitol Hill to announce introduction of the Substance Abuse Treatment Parity Act. Wellstone has gained a reputation as a bipartisan crusader for mental health insurance parity through his collaboration with Republican Senator Pete Domenici of New Mexico.
As has been true of earlier parity legislation supported by Wellstone, the substance abuse bill has APA’s backing.
In a revealing personal statement, Ramstad commented: "As a grateful recovering alcoholic, I’ve seen firsthand the value of treatment for people who are chemically dependent. As someone who stays close to recovering people and treatment professionals in Minnesota, I’ve been alarmed by the dwindling access to treatment for people who need help."
It is time to put health coverage for chemical dependency on par with that for other diseases, said Ramstad.
Better access to treatment for substance abuse makes fiscal sense, because it would not only help those afflicted, but would also, in the long run, save health care dollars, Ramstad asserted. Alcoholism costs the United States $90 billion each year in direct and indirect costs, he noted. Untreated alcoholics and drug addicts on average incur health care costs twice that of nonaddicted people, Ramstad said.
Addressing a major concern of fiscal conservatives, Ramstad said that the bill would "help eliminate barriers to treatment without significantly increasing health care premiums."
The bill follows the compromise model of last session’s mental health parity legislation by exempting businesses with fewer than 50 employees and by waiving the parity mandate should it boost the cost of health insurance premiums in any plan by more than 1 percent. Last session’s bill specifically excluded substance abuse from coverage requirements.
Ramstad cited a study by the actuarial firm Milliman and Robertson suggesting that full parity for substance abuse treatment would increase overall per capita health insurance premiums by only 0.5 percent.
"The evidence supports what I know already as a recovering alcoholic that providing treatment is good preventive medicine because treatment helps people stay healthier longer and saves health care dollars," Ramstad said.
Substance abuse treatment is, at this time, often unaffordable even when it is available, Wellstone commented. Citing a variety of statistics ranging from deaths due to drunken driving to alcohol-related cancers, Wellstone said that paying for substance abuse treatment would decrease health care costs in the long run by reducing the occurrence of substance abuse–related illness.
Where substance treatment has been made accessible and affordable, it has drastically cut overall hospital admission rates, he said. In Minnesota, the state Alcohol and Other Drug Authority reported that for chemical dependency clients about $22 million was saved in annual health care costs by providing substance abuse treatment.
It is apparent that "substance abuse treatment works and can help reduce health care costs and costs to society," said Wellstone. "We need to ensure that health care insurance providers do not discriminate in their coverage of substance abuse treatment services. This bill is designed to take a large step toward decreasing the problem of substance abuse and its consequences. We can’t afford not to provide this coverage."