INSURANCE FOR ADDICTIONS PUSHED

Saying alcohol treatment saved his life, Rep. Jim Ramstad urged a House
panel to pass legislation aimed at increasing insurance coverage for
alcoholism and drug addiction.

"We know this disease is fatal," Ramstad told members of the House
Government Reform's subcommittee on criminal justice, drug policy and human
resources. "If it weren't for treatment, I would be dead." Ramstad, a
Minnesota Republican, has sponsored legislation that would prohibit health
insurance plans from imposing limits on substance abuse treatment that are
different from those for medical or surgical benefits. The bill would not
require plans to cover substance abuse treatment, but would prohibit
discrimination by health plans that do.

Opposing the bill, Charles Kahn III, president of the Health Insurance
Association of America, said, "Mandates can impose significant burdens on
health insurance carriers and drive up costs for consumers."

Several people at the hearing had personal stories to tell. Susan Rook, a
former reporter with CNN, told how drug abuse and alcohol landed her in the
emergency room.

After entering an alcohol and drug treatment program, however, her
insurance coverage ran out in a week. Only when CNN agreed to pick up the
full cost of her 28-day stay was she assured she could get the treatment
she needed.

"I had the Cadillac Deluxe (insurance) plan -- and the substance abuse was
capped at $10,000," she said.

The bill is H.R. 1977.