[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 121 (Monday, September 14, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H7676-H7677]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              SUBSTANCE ABUSE TREATMENT PARITY NEEDED NOW

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Ramstad) is recognized for 5 minutes.

[[Page H7677]]

  Mr. RAMSTAD. Mr. Speaker, while the Speaker's announced goal of a 
drug-free America by 2002 is a laudable one, it is also completely 
unrealistic without a meaningful treatment strategy. We will never even 
come close to a drug-free America until we knock down the barriers to 
chemical dependency treatment for 26 million Americans who are 
currently suffering the ravages of drug and alcohol addiction.
  Since 1956, the American Medical Association has recognized that 
alcoholism and drug addiction are a disease. Yet only 2 percent of 
alcoholics and addicts covered by health insurance plans are receiving 
treatment, notwithstanding the purported coverage of chemical 
dependency treatment by these plans. That is because of discriminatory 
caps, artificially high deductibles and co-payments as well as other 
restrictions on chemical dependency treatment such as limited treatment 
stays that are different from other diseases.
  To reduce illegal drug use in America, we must address the disease of 
addiction by putting chemical dependency treatment on par with 
treatment for other diseases.
  Providing equal access to chemical dependency treatment with 
treatment for other diseases covered by health plans is not only the 
smart medical approach, it is also cost effective. It is not only the 
right thing to do, it is also the cost effective thing to do.
  We have all the empirical data in the world, including the actuarial 
studies, to prove that parity for chemical dependency treatment will 
not raise premiums, will not raise health insurance premiums by more 
than one-half of 1 percent in the worst case scenario.
  So for the price of a cup of coffee per month increasing the 
premiums, we can treat millions and millions of Americans who are 
suffering from addiction. This does not include the billions of dollars 
of cost savings that were a result from the treatment parity. It is 
well documented that, for every dollar we spend in treatment, we save 
$7 in the cost of prison construction, social welfare costs, health 
care costs, cost of lost productivity through job absenteeism, 
injuries, sub-par work performance and so forth.
  Other studies have shown health care costs alone are 100 percent 
higher for untreated alcoholics and addicts compared to those who 
receive treatment. Health care costs are 100 percent higher for those 
who go untreated. Last year alone, Mr. Speaker, the cost of addiction 
in the United States totaled $140 billion.
  The recent Bill Moyers television documentation pointed out, and 
medical experts and treatment professionals agree, that providing 
access to treatment is the only way to combat addiction in America. We 
can build all the fences on our borders, surround our country with 
fences, hire thousands more border guards, but simply dealing with the 
supply side is not going to make a dent in the drug problem. It is not 
going to solve the drug problem. We have got to emphasize the treatment 
component and include it in our strategy.
  Believe me, as a recovering alcoholic myself, I know firsthand the 
value of treatment. As someone who stays close to other recovering 
people and to other alcoholics and addicts, I am absolutely alarmed by 
the dwindling access to treatment for people who need it.
  That is why H.R. 2409 the Substance Abuse Treatment Parity Act, which 
I have authored with 92 cosponsors from all political persuasions, on 
both sides of the aisle from the far right to the far left, 92 
cosponsors, must be included in the drug-free America legislative 
package for that package to have any credibility in the real world.
  This legislation would provide access to treatment by prohibiting 
discrimination against alcoholics and addicts. If we agree that 
addiction is a disease, then we should treat it like every other 
disease and not let insurance companies discriminate against treatment.
  This is not a mandate. I have heard that argument by some of the 
opponents of this legislation. This is not a mandate. All we are saying 
is that, if you and your plan are covered for chemical dependency 
treatment, you should not be limited to 2 to 7 days, which most 
companies are doing. Because every chemical dependency program in the 
world knows you cannot get effective treatment in 2 to 7 days. So this 
is not another mandate.
  In addition, the legislation that I have sponsored waives the parity 
requirement if premiums increase by more than 1 percent. It is off. 
Also, small businesses with fewer than 50 employees would be exempt in 
the first place.
  Mr. Speaker, if we fail to address the underlying addiction problem 
in America, the violent crime problem is going to continue to worsen, 
and this drug-free America goal will continue to be illusory and 
unattainable.
  It might make good politics to some to talk about building more 
prevention and more border patrol, but it is not working. It is not 
working. We have got to deal with the fact that there are 26 million 
addicts in this country who are going untreated, and we have got to 
address treatment. That component must be in a meaningful and realistic 
package.
  As cochair of the House Law Enforcement Caucus, Mr. Speaker, I know, 
as any cop in America knows, that 85 percent of all crimes are tied 
directly or indirectly to drug or alcohol addiction. A recent Columbia 
University study shows that 80 percent of the 1.4 million prisoners in 
jails and prisons are there because of drug and alcohol addiction. So 
not to deal with underlying problem means we are never going to deal 
effectively with the crime problem.
  In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, I respectfully urge the Committee on 
Rules to include the Substance Abuse Treatment Parity Act in the 
antidrug legislative package. This, Mr. Speaker, is a life or death 
issue for 26 million Americans.

                          ____________________