Healthcare Reform

On Tuesday, March 23, 2010, President Obama signed historic healthcare reform legislation, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, into law. As a result of a concerted advocacy effort from the field, a number of national organizations under the umbrella of the Coalition for Whole Health and CADCA, this law contains a number of provisions that will improve coverage for and access to substance use disorder prevention, treatment and recovery.

Healthcare reform. It was perhaps the most covered issue in the news media the past year, and now CADCA is bringing this hot topic to you during a special town hall session being held at CADCA's National Leadership Forum next week.

If you haven't already done so, there is still time to weigh in with your members of Congress on healthcare reform. Please click here to respond to the legislative alert that CADCA issued last week to ensure that the final version of healthcare reform includes substance abuse prevention, treatment and recovery.

 

Members of Congress continue to work at a fast and furious pace to come to an agreement on healthcare reform legislation, but we need your help now if we want to get substance abuse prevention included in this critical legislation. If you haven't already, click here to respond to CADCA's current legislative alert.

Raising taxes on beer, wine and liquor immediately reduces the number of deaths from alcohol-related diseases such as liver disease, oral or breast cancers, and alcohol poisoning, according to a new study published in the online edition of the American Journal of Public Health. A press release about the study is available through EurekAlert.

In communities across the country, hundreds of medical professionals and other individuals volunteer their time and expertise in times of crisis or to help with major health initiatives. These volunteers are known as the Medical Reserve Corps. CADCA and the Medical Reserve Corps have entered into a partnership to explore ways that local MRCs and coalitions can form alliances. As a first step, we are seeking coalitions that have worked with the MRC in their community.

As members of Congress return to Washington, DC from the August recess, they are gearing up for the substantive work still required to pass healthcare reform legislation. CADCA is looking for feedback about how many substance abuse prevention professionals from throughout the country attended town hall meetings about healthcare reform, and if substance abuse prevention in general was mentioned at the meeting. If you attended a town hall, please email David Kurosky, Public Policy Associate, at dkurosky@cadca.org and tell him which member of the House and/or Senate convened the meeting, what state and congressional district you are from, and any issues you might have raised.

Two weeks ago, CADCA disseminated a Recess Guide to the field encouraging coalition members to attend at least one of the many town hall meetings occurring throughout the country on healthcare reform. If you already attended a town hall, or are planning to attend, CADCA wants to hear from you. Please write a 500 word article on your experience and submit it to dkurosky@cadca.org as a potential inclusion in Coalitions Online.

During the month of August, the House and Senate will be on recess, but members of Congress will spend an extended amount of time working in their home state and district offices. This will provide the field with several opportunities to weigh in with the members of their congressional delegation, and reiterate the importance of including substance use/abuse prevention in healthcare reform. CADCA has created a Recess Guide to provide you with directions and advice on how to take advantage of these opportunities.

CADCA's Public Policy Team has been working diligently with a host of other national addiction and metal health groups on healthcare reform (HCR). CADCA is specifically developing proposals to try to get substance abuse prevention included in HCR. To that end, we have developed a two-page document including the full continuum of substance use and abuse prevention in all aspects of healthcare reform (HCR).

Unless members of Congress hear from the field that substance use/abuse prevention works and is cost effective, it is not likely that they will include it in healthcare reform. Research from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism confirms that not only is substance use preventable, but it is cost effective.

Emphasizing the wide-spread economic and health impacts of substance abuse and addiction, Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack (CA-45) called on House Energy and Commerce Committee leaders to include mental health and substance use disorder services as a part of any health care reform legislation. In her letter to the members of the committee, Rep. Bono Mack said incorporating addiction prevention, treatment and recovery into broader reform measures will improve quality of life for millions of Americans and reduce health care costs.