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While Americans – and Congress – remain divided on specifics, 69 percent want a better healthcare act, not no healthcare act.
CLINTON TOWNSHIP, MI, Jan. 18, 2017 (Elite Rehab Placement) – With a new, veto-proof U.S. Congress and president-elect determined to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), all that remains to decide is what will replace the ACA, and what it will cover. That remains uncertain.
A National Public Radio poll of 1,011U.S. adults on January 4 and 5, 2017 found 31 percent wanted ACA “repealed and replaced,” but an additional 38 percent wanted it “strengthened or expanded.” Both the executive and legislative branches have pledged to replace it, but details have been few, beyond a promise to keep popular provisions, such as coverage for pre-existing conditions.
One thing the ACA accomplished was reclassifying “mental health and substance use disorder services, including behavioral health treatment” as an essential health benefit. ACA also made such services more accessible to low-income Americans – who are more prone to addiction and mental illness, according to the Health Insurance.org blog – through premium subsidies and expanding Medicaid in 31 states that agreed to the expansion.
Many addiction treatment advocates worry that a replacement for ACA may weaken its addiction treatment provisions, despite evidence cited by the National Institute on Drug Abuse that those treatment services save money. “According to several cautious estimates, every dollar invested in addiction treatment programs yields a return of between $4 and $7 in reduced drug-related crime, criminal justice costs, and theft,” says the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). “When savings related to healthcare are included, total savings can exceed costs by a ratio of 12 to 1.”
The U.S. has been experiencing an opioid epidemic, and most experts say substance abuse rehab must be part of any solution. A recent U.S. surgeon general report concluded that “Addiction to alcohol or drugs is a chronic but treatable brain disease that requires medical intervention, not moral judgment.” Former Representatives, including Patrick Kennedy and informal Trump adviser Newt Gingrich, agree.
“Last year, Gingrich and Kennedy co-founded a nonprofit, Advocates for Opioid Recovery,” to help addicts who want to get straight find help, says Barry Hunt of Elite Rehab Placement. “But no one knows what’s going to happen,” as no detailed replacement legislation has yet been proposed. One document related to such a plan, A Better Way: Our Vision for a Confident America, only mentions “substance abuse treatment spending” in passing with no suggestion for how or if it might be changed.
The health insurance industry trade association America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) is calling for continued subsidies, including for substance abuse treatment, and a long transition from ACA to ensure “a stable transition to a better approach,” instead of “even more uncertainty and instability.”
The Senate and House voted Jan. 11 and 13 to begin the repeal process, but no final vote or replacement has been announced.
To read the entire article visit https://www.eliterehabplacement.com/blog/how-aca-repeal-affects-substance-abuse/.
Release ID: 161877