[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.
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