ADDICTION A DISEASE TO CONFRONT

Thanks for the great editorial on July 6, "Sound minds -- Mental
health gains focus in N.C."

When it comes to health insurance benefits for individuals suffering
from mental illness and addictions, it's been a long and arduous
fight to reverse discriminatory practices. Only slowly has society
come to accept these conditions as medical disorders involving
malfunction of the brain in the same way as diabetes involves
malfunction of the pancreas. It is unfortunate that addictive
disorders were excluded from coverage by the Legislature.

We know now that individuals are predisposed to addiction due largely
to the genes they inherit and that the development of the disorder is
due to changes in the brain. Numerous studies have shown that the
added costs for insurance coverage are minimal.

We have little to lose and everything to gain by promoting treatment.
Treatment results in saved lives and huge savings in other medical
and social expenses. Hopefully we will not have to wait another 15
years to see an end to discriminatory health insurance based on the
patient's diagnosis.

DAVID AMES

Greenville