TREATMENT LIMITED FOR UNINSURED DRUG ABUSERS

The writer is executive director, Charlotte Rescue Mission.

In response to "Good health just as vital as access to treatment" (April 17
Viewpoint):

The lack of health coverage for lower-income people in the community plays
a major role in access to health care not only for preventive purposes, but
also when there is a health crisis.

When an uninsured drug abuser wants treatment, where can that person
receive care? Outpatient care often means the patient will be living in the
same environment that fostered drug use and abuse initially. Life skills
training techniques (learning to cope with drug cravings, learning to live
a sane life in an insane environment) are better learned in a residential
program that removes the drug abuser from the routine environment.

However, in Charlotte the average residential recovery program costs $1,000
per day for meals, room and treatment. An uninsured drug abuser cannot
afford such a program. Many insurance plans will not cover a residential
treatment option.

Drug abuse is a disease as real to millions of Americans as heart disease
and cancer. Preventive efforts are needed to keep the uninsured from the
misery of not having an option for care when the addiction becomes
life-threatening.

The Rev. Anthony Marciano

Charlotte