NCADD Supports Treatment Parity Legislation

National Council on Alcoholism & Drug Dependence
Thursday, 22 March 2001

Legislation Eliminates Discrimination in Health Plans for Substance Abuse Treatment

WASHINGTON, D.C.--March 22, 2001-- Senator Paul Wellstone (D-MN) and Congressman Jim Ramstad, (R-MN) were joined today by Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) and a biparisan group of members in both chambers, to take important first steps to ending the outdated U.S. drug policies of the 1990's by introducing legislation that would cover addiction treatment benefits in the same manner as all other medical and surgical conditions currently covered under private health plans. Of the 70% of Americans insured by private health insurance, few receive benefits for treatment on par with other diseases, in part because of 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 day and visit limits than other diseases; 3) higher co-pays and deductibles for employees and their families seeking to heal from addiction; and 4) arbitrary and often undisclosed criteria used by insurers and employers to determine whether treatment services are medically necessary. Fairness in Treatment: The Drug and Alcohol Addiction Recovery Act of 2001 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 Physician Leadership on National Drug Policy (PLNDP) at 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 billion), six times more than diabetes ($130 billion) and four times more than cancer ($96.1 billion). Fair access to treatment for families afflicted by addictive disease will reduce the nation's current $400 billion 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.

According to Stacia Murphy, the President of the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD), "More than the 23 million people suffer from addiction. Many studies show that substance abuse treatment reduces health care costs by 50% or more. I am convinced that full parity in health plans would quickly begin to reduce the huge burden untreated addiction inflicts on our hospitals, judicial system and communities."

Among all diseases, alcoholism and drug addiction are the most economical diseases to treat. Actuarial studies conducted by Milliman and Robertson estimate that full parity for substance abuse treatment increases insurance premiums by less than one percent or less than $1 per family per month.

A Harvard School of Public Health study assessing the cost/benefit ratio for various treatments of medical conditions found that substance abuse treatment ranked in the top 10% of medical treatments reviewed for savings in money and lives.

A Harvard School of Public Health study assessing the cost/benefit ratio for various treatments of medical conditions found that substance abuse treatment ranked in the top 10% of medical treatments reviewed for savings in money and lives.

The substance abuse parity legislation falls on the heels of the nation's renewed interest in focusing on more effective ways to solve the country's drug problem. The U.S. Department on Health and Human Service's Healthy People 2000: National Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Objectives list both substance abuse and access to health care as two of their top health concerns for the new millennium. Additionally, a recent congressional hearing convened by Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, historically known for its law and order approach to drug policy, resolved unanimously to make addiction treatment one of the primary focuses of U.S. drug policy.

"The nation can only benefit from full parity for substance abuse treatment. "says Ms. Murphy.

For more information, or to contact National Council on Alcoholism & Drug Dependence, see their website at: www.ncadd.org