ROSENTHAL REPORTS
DRUG TREATMENT FUNDING ENDANGERED AS TRUMP SEEKS TO DISMANTLE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT
In a disturbing development, President Trump is backing a Texas lawsuit that would invalidate the Affordable Care Act (ACA), slashing funds for substance abuse treatment and leaving more than 30 million Americans without health insurance. That includes those who purchased insurance plans through ACA marketplaces, and low-income beneficiaries covered under ACA’s Medicaid expansion. Even more troubling, as we grapple with the opioid epidemic, rescinding ACA would end the requirement that insurance companies cover substance abuse treatment.
ACA and the Medicaid expansion have had a substantial impact on treating addiction at a time when more than 70,000 Americans are expected to die this year from drug overdose. Medicaid pays for a quarter of all addiction treatment in the U.S., including prescriptions for two medications used to treat opioid withdrawal. This has led to a welcome increase in the number of treatment programs and primary care doctors who are able to prescribe withdrawal medications, an essential component of medication-assisted treatment (MAT) which combines anti-craving drugs with behavioral therapy and peer-based counseling.
So, more than two years into the Trump administration, we are still looking into the abyss – without strong leadership and massive funding for an anti-drug effort – and are now facing the threat to dismantle the ACA. Some believe funds might be forthcoming from a settlement of the opioid lawsuits now underway in many states against opioid makers. But in the only settlement so far, Purdue Pharma agreed to pay $270 million to Oklahoma for opioid addiction research and treatment, a fraction of the $20 billion in damages the state had sought.
We cannot wait for lawsuits when, on average, 130 Americans die every day from drug overdose. The Trump administration is ignoring a national crisis when we have the resources to launch a national campaign to help those suffering from substance abuse, and to stop the tragic loss of life.