GOP Health Plan Removes Mandate for Substance Abuse Treatment

A HEALTHPLAN DIVIDED

One of President Trump’s biggest campaign promises during the 2016 election cycle was to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, often heard referring to it as a “disaster” and a “failure”. The Republican party has not wasted any time drawing up a brand new healthcare plan that has been promised to right the wrongs of the ACA and therefore differs in some major ways from the current program. The changes promised have been met with criticism from not only Democrats but also many Republicans and members of the healthcare industry. One of the most substantial changes to be implemented would be the removal of mandatory coverage for substance abuse or mental health treatment by insurers. This would mean that millions of Americans who receive treatment for mental health, addiction therapy, or medications are subject to have their coverage abruptly removed.

The new administration under President Trump has seen an extraordinary amount of controversy, right from the day of his inauguration. The same can be said of the Affordable Care Act. While 20 million Americans are now covered because of the ACA, many middle-income families have had to pay higher premiums because of it, causing a public outcry by many people who formed a major demographic Trump’s voter base. However, several mandates of the ACA are almost universally lauded by politicians, healthcare professionals, and the general public. The ACA’s inclusion of a mandate which requires insurance companies to offer mental health and drug addiction coverage has long been championed as one of the major redeeming features of the Act. It has given countless addicts the opportunity to turn their lives around and begin to recover.

If this were to be passed it could be disastrous, not just for drug addicts, but for the field of addiction treatment as a whole. One of the tenets of The Face the Music Foundation is to have addiction recognized as a legitimate medical condition and not a simply moral deficiency. This proposal completely undermines the efforts of the hundreds of thousands of addictions specialists, healthcare professionals, and social workers who fight for the same thing across the country.

It has never been more important to be informed and to get involved in the things that directly affect our lives. A donation to the Face the Music Foundation goes directly into helping spread addiction awareness and to help get addicts the help they need to recover and thrive. Please donate today.