STATE DRUG TREATMENT PROGRAM FACES DELAY

RICHMOND -- State officials are holding up a new program that was supposed
to pump $10.5 million into substance abuse treatment in Virginia starting
July 1.

The new program, designed to help an estimated 16,000 Virginians recover
from addiction, now won't start until late spring or early summer of next year.

"I hope that it is just a system management problem, rather than delaying
implementation to balance the budget," said Bristol Republican Sen. William
C. Wampler.

"Down in my neck of the woods, we're having pretty severe problems with
OxyContin, and this would be a pretty good opportunity to start some of the
intensive services that are required to start the rehabilitation process,"
said Wampler, who chairs the Senate Finance Committee's subcommittee on
health and human resources funding. "It's not going to solve all the
problems, but it's a right smart down payment." Legislators approved the
treatment program during the 2000 General Assembly as part of the state's
two-year, $48 billion budget.

Using $5.1 million in state funds and $5.4 million in federal matching
money, Virginia would cover treatment services under Medicaid, the state's
health insurance program for the very poor.

In December, Gov. Jim Gilmore proposed eliminating the program to help
balance the budget. But because legislators never revised the budget this
year, the program remained on the books.

When Gilmore had to make $421 million in unilateral budget cuts in March
because tax revenues were coming in below projections, he spared his
signature car-tax relief program but also promised not to cut "essential
social services." The governor specifically exempted the state Medicaid
agency, called the Department of Medical Assistance Services, from cuts.

Administration officials insist that the treatment funding delay, which
could save the state all $5.1 million of its commitment in this fiscal
year, has nothing to do with budget cuts.

The reasons for the delay are twofold, said Louis F. Rossiter, secretary of
Health and Human Resources. First, the Department of Medical Assistance
Services is putting a significant effort into revamping the state
children's health insurance program. And second, DMAS is preparing for a
transition to a new computer system in the spring.

"It's a matter of priorities," Rossiter said. "Does one want health
insurance coverage for children, an expansion of that program, or do you
want to change the old Medicaid Management Information System today, then
change the new one again in the spring?" For people who are eligible for
Medicaid and need treatment now, some community services boards,
particularly in urban areas, are able to provide it using state and local
funds.

But the Medicaid delay means boards can't expand those services or make a
dent in waiting lists for treatment.

"My belief is that every CSB has some type of waiting list for treatment
for people who are addicted," said Tom Treece, president of the Substance
Abuse Addiction Recovery Alliance of Virginia. "If the money comes into the
system, we'll be able to treat those people before they get involved in the
legal system." Treece said expanding Medicaid to cover the services is a
way to get the federal government to pick up more than half the tab of
expanding treatment.

"The fact of the matter is the feds will fund that service through the
Medicaid program," he said. "It's the choice of the state of Virginia
whether or not to have Medicaid fund substance abuse treatment services.
For some reason, and I don't know for sure why, they have been dragging
their feet."