Millions of New Patients Could Receive Addiction Treatment Under Health Law

By Join Together Staff | April 17, 2013 | 1 Comment | Filed in Addiction, Alcohol, Drugs, Government, Healthcare, Legislation & Treatment

Between 3 million and 5 million new patients could soon receive addiction treatment under the Affordable Care Act, according to the Associated Press. The change will have a major impact on treatment for drug and alcohol addiction.

Currently only 1 cent of every health care dollar in the United States is dedicated to addiction treatment, the AP reports. Approximately 10 percent of the 23 million Americans with drug and alcohol problems receive treatment, government figures indicate. Until now, a major reason for the large number of people not receiving treatment has been a lack of health insurance.

Under healthcare reform, millions of people will become eligible for insurance coverage starting in January. The number of people seeking addiction treatment could double, the article notes.

“There is no illness currently being treated that will be more affected by the Affordable Care Act than addiction,” Tom McLellan, CEO of the nonprofit Treatment Research Institute, told the AP. “That’s because we have a system of treatment that was built for a time when they didn’t understand that addiction was an illness.”

The change may overwhelm many treatment facilities. In more than two-thirds of states, treatment clinics are at 100 percent capacity or will reach that mark soon. The arrival of many new patients could lead to waiting lists of months or longer, according to treatment agencies. Many of them have been shrinking in recent years due to government budget cuts.

The federal government is urging states to expand their Medicaid programs. If 20 states do so, an additional 3.8 million patients with addiction problems would receive insurance, the AP notes. If almost all of the states expanded their Medicaid program, that number could reach 5.5 million. The law also designates addiction treatment as an “essential health benefit” for most commercial health plans.

FDA Will Not Approve Generic Versions of Original OxyContin

By Join Together Staff | April 17, 2013 | 1 Comment | Filed in Prescription Drugs & Prevention

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced Tuesday it will not approve any generic versions of the original form of OxyContin. The move is aimed at preventing prescription drug abuse, Reuters reports. The original version of OxyContin could be crushed and then snorted or injected. Its patent was set to expire on Tuesday.

The FDA also approved new labeling for a reformulated version of the drug, which will indicate it is more difficult to crush, and thus harder to abuse than the original version. OxyContin’s manufacturer, Purdue Pharma, introduced the tamper-resistant formula in 2010.

“The development of abuse-deterrent opioid analgesics is a public health priority for the FDA,” Douglas Throckmorton, MD, Deputy Director for Regulatory Programs in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in a statement. “While both original and reformulated OxyContin are subject to abuse and misuse, the FDA has determined that reformulated OxyContin can be expected to make abuse by injection difficult and expected to reduce abuse by snorting compared to original OxyContin.”

Representative Hal Rogers of Kentucky, Co-Chairman of the Congressional Caucus on Prescription Drug Abuse, said in a statement, “This is a huge win for our region and for the thousands of families who have seen painkillers become pain makers. The FDA undoubtedly saved our nation from another deadly tidal wave of oxycodone abuse and overdoses.”

Heroin Use Increasingly Seen in Suburbs Across the Country

By Join Together Staff | April 16, 2013 | Leave a comment | Filed in Drugs & Prescription Drugs

As prescription painkillers become more difficult to obtain and abuse, a growing number of people addicted to these drugs are switching to heroin, USA Today reports. The trend is increasingly being seen in the suburbs.

Health officials and police report a significant rise in overdoses and crime, the newspaper notes. Last fall, the Northern New England Poison Center reported a jump in heroin overdoses in Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire. “When you switch to heroin, you don’t know what’s in there from batch to batch,” said the center’s director, Karen Simone. “It’s a big jump to go to heroin. It may be strong; it may be weak. They don’t know what they are getting. Suddenly, the whole game changes.”

Heroin is popular in large part because it is cheap, officials say. While an 80-milligram OxyContin costs between $60 to $100 a pill on the black market, heroin costs $45 to $60 for a multiple-dose supply. OxyContin abuse has also been declining because the drug has been reformulated so it is more difficult to crush and snort.

According to the 2011 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, the number of people who were past-year heroin users in 2011 (620,000) was higher than the number in 2007 (373,000).

“Heroin is huge. We’ve never had anything like it in this state,” said Carol Falkowski, the former drug abuse strategy officer for Minnesota and a member of the Community Epidemiology Working Group at the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which tracks trends in drug use. “It’s very affordable. It’s very high purity. Most people did not believe that heroin would happen here in Lake Woebegone, but it really has a grip, not only in the Twin Cities, but all around the state.”

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We are proud to announce the
Philadelphia Pre-Release Screening of


Tickets
Order HERE
Or call Kristin at
215-345-6644, ext 3114

VIP Reception
and film: $75
Film: $15
(at door $20)

(PRO-ACT would appreciate your donation of tickets that we can distribute to those who might not otherwise have the opportunity
to view this film)
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About The Council

The Council of Southeast Pennsylvania, Inc., an affiliate of the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD), is a private nonprofit organization serving Bucks County, Chester County, Delaware County, Montgomery County and Philadelphia County. The Council provides a wide range ofservices to families, schools, businesses, individuals and the community at large regardless of ability to pay, ethnicity, race, gender, age and/or sexual orientation.

www.councilsepa.org



About PRO-ACT

PRO-ACT is the regional nonprofit organization working to mobilize and rally individuals in recovery from addiction, as well as their families, friends and allies in a campaign to end discrimination, broaden social understanding and achieve a just response to addiction as a public health crisis.

www.proact.org

This is a screening of a feature documentary film about the 23.5 million Americans living in long-term recovery, and the emerging public recovery movement that will transform how alcohol and other drug problems are dealt with in our communities.

Thursday, May 23, 2013
at
Holy Family University
ETC Auditorium
Corner of Frankford and Grant Avenues, Philadelphia, PA
(plenty of free parking)

A catered VIP Reception will be held prior to the screening and will offer attendees the opportunity to talk with business leaders, legislators, experts in the field, the filmmaker and others

VIP Reception: 6:00 pm
Film: 7:00 pm (doors open 6:45 pm)

Panel Discussion: 8:30 pm

The moving story of The Anonymous People is told through the faces and voices of citizens, leaders, volunteers, corporate executives, public figures, and celebrities who are laying it all on the line to save the lives of others just like them. This passionate new public recovery movement aims to transform public opinion, engage communities and elected officials, and finally shift public policy toward lasting solutions.

Help us to change the conversation from problems to solutions for America's top health problem!

Any funds raised through this event will be used to support Advocacy and Recovery

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If interested, please send an email to Marita

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215-346-6644

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Many Young Adults Use Parents’ Insurance to Treat Substance Abuse, Mental Illness

By Join Together Staff | April 12, 2013 | Leave a comment | Filed in Addiction, Alcohol, Drugs, Healthcare, Legislation, Mental Health, Parenting, Treatment, Young Adults & Youth

Young adults who receive health insurance through their parents’ plans because of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) are more likely to use the coverage to treat substance abuse, mental illness or pregnancy, compared with their peers who already had coverage, a new report finds.

These three conditions accounted for 60 percent of hospital claims for young adults who were enrolled in their parents’ health plans in 2011, as a result of ACA, according to The Hill. The findings come from a study by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI).

In contrast, substance abuse, mental illness and pregnancy accounted for about one-third of claims in a group of young people who were already enrolled in their parents’ plan before healthcare reform took effect. Under ACA, health plans that provide dependent coverage must let young adults remain on their parents’ plan until they are 26.

As a result of the law, 3.1 million young adults have gained coverage, EBRI estimates. The uninsured rate among young people ages 19 to 25 has fallen significantly over the past several years.

The EBRI study found young people enrolled in their parents’ plan after 2011, when the provision took effect, spent an average of 15 percent more on healthcare, compared with their peers who were already on their parents’ plan.