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Recovery in the News
Health Care Reform Fails to Address Addiction, Recovery Advocates Say
Anne Ravana
The Maine Public Broadcasting Network
September 10, 2009
At the height of the national health care debate, some Mainers in the addiction recovery community are concerned that proposed reform efforts fail to address the insurance needs of those addicted to drugs and alcohol. The issue was front and center an addiction recovery summit in Bangor.
Ru Merrill is a Greenville resident whose 26-year-old son is a recovering heroin addict. She says taking care of him and helping him afford his opiate replacement therapy medication has become a family affair.
"Well, my son does not qualify for health insurance through the state for MaineCare because he has no specific diagnosis and he has a child but not primary custody of the child. So all of his services have been out of pocket or we've had to apply for some sort of charity," Merrill says.
Merrill's son has been in detox twice and his medication payments have come out of her pocket. "So his care is really costing the medical community a lot of money," she says. "His Suboxone treatment, which is controversial, is costing out of pocket about $120 a week."
Merrill's is a story that Deb Dettor hears often. Dettor is with the Maine Alliance for Addiction Recovery, and she says there's been talk in legislative circles about saving money by offering addiction treatment medications, including Suboxone and methadone, but only on a short-term basis.
"And after 90 days you're kind of on your own," Dettor says. "And that is really as inappropriate as thinking that for someone who has diabetes that we would give them insulin just for 90 days and then say we're not going to treat your long-term condition beyond that."
And Dettor says she's concerned that President Obama's healthcare reform package won't include coverage for alcohol and drug addiction treatments.
"It's not on the radar right now. We're not hearing it. Obama's people are not talking about alcohol and drug related problems, and so we're trying to make sure that that agenda gets covered," she says. "I have called my own legislators, I've called Michaud and Snowe and Collins' office, as well as Chellie Pingree, to just mention that I'm very concerned about this, and I'm urging other recovery advocates to do the same."
But Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Brenda Harvey says there is some good news in the Obama health care reform proposal when it comes to treatment coverage for adults who do not have children, and are financially eligible for Medicaid.
"They would be able to access the Medicaid Services and therefore have access to, not so much the prevention services, but the intervention services, particularly residential treatment, inpatient care, medications, transportation to and from medical appointments."
Harvey says she's hopeful that caps on the amount of coverage an individual can receive in a lifetime will be removed. "For people who are in recovery and who are working and have insurance, not having lifetime caps for these kinds of issues is a benefit that I think President Obama spoke about last night that benefits all of us who are employed, whether you have an addiction issue or not."
As for Ru Merrill of Greenville, she's hoping her son will find a way to qualify for the state Medicaid program known as MaineCare. "I would just like to see the insurance company recognize this sector of in-between jobs or like my son, he can't afford his own insurance and he's not qualifying for anything from the state. His class want treatment and can't get any help."
As she and her son attempt to navigate through the system of addiction treatment and coverage in Maine, Merrill has formed a support group for family members of recovering addicts in her community.
Copyright 2009 by Maine Public Broadcasting Network All Rights Reserved.