Call 888-647-0579 to speak with an alcohol or drug abuse counselor.

Who Answers?

Alcohol treatment essential

One of the toughest steps for an alcoholic is to shake off the denial. It can fester for years until one day he realizes he’s lost — or is on the verge of losing — his family, his job, even his life.

So he takes the plunge and starts to seek a path to recovery. But there are roadblocks. He can’t access or can’t afford the treatment programs, especially the in-patient ones.

It’s a terrible catch-22 for many Wisconsinites who recognize they need real help.

Wisconsin ranks fifth in the country for people over age 12 needing treatment but not receiving it, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Dr. Richard Brown, clinical director of the Wisconsin Initiative to Promote Healthy Lifestyles, estimates that only 10 percent to 20 percent of Wisconsinites who need help actually get it.

This is criminal, considering we live in a state that leads the country in risky drinking.

Prohibitive costs and lack of insurance parity for substance abuse treatment are the main culprits. Under Wisconsin law, group health insurers can cap coverage at $7,000 per year for mental health and substance abuse treatment, which includes inpatient and outpatient services.

That might have worked in 1985 when the mandate was established, but today, $7,000 only pays about a quarter to a half of what many month long inpatient programs run.

Two proposals to the Legislature, in 2003 and 2005, to raise the annual coverage for substance abuse and mental health coverage to $16,800 died.

If lawmakers really want to address the drinking problem inherent in the Wisconsin culture — and its attendant societal woes — it has to deal with the treatment aspect of it.

We need to get treatment decisions out of the hands of insurance companies and into those of providers and patients. We need insurance parity for alcohol treatment. We need insurance companies to recognize that inpatient treatment is the best option for some.

While it may take more than one run through a treatment program to stay sober, people who get treatment fare far better than those who don’t.

In a state stymied by treatment options, we quickly need to consider the most cost-efficient and effective options for all our residents who recognize they can’t overcome their addictions alone.
_________
source: Appleton Post Crescent

More Treatment & Detox Articles

Residential treatment centers

Addiction of any type has the power to ruin the life of an individual completely, so much so that it can lead to the death of the affected or even provoke the individual to become a social threat. The causes of addiction are not exact; anything can lead an individual to get addicted. The….

Emerson sponsors Alcoholics Anonymous

Emerson’s Center for Health and Wellness is sponsoring Alcoholics Anonymous meetings on campus, responding to a student’s initiative to offer the outlet to sufferers of alcoholism. A student-led action to offer an outlet to those prone to the accessible excesses of collegiate life, the program was founded by Brady Frome, a sophomore Theatre Education major….

Alcohol abuse among women is on the rise

Almost 2.5 million women are alcoholics. Many of these women are busy juggling families and careers — all while hiding a dangerous habit. Health Specialist Denise Dador takes a look at how these”cocktail moms” go from happy hour to addiction. A deadly wrong-way crash in New York last summer shoved the issue of alcoholism into….

Binge drinking – the Maltese way

Maltese boozers start younger but handle their drink better, an international study finds. And while the law has often been amended to address issues such as underage drinking, enforcement has to date been scant. James Debono analyses our alcohol culture through statistics Maltese teenagers are more likely to binge than their peers in the United….

Binge Drinking Puts the Brain, and Life Itself, at Risk

Nearly half of students at four-year colleges do it regularly (and, it’s not sex). Rather, it’s binge drinking — downing five or more alcoholic drinks at a sitting. “People have a hard time identifying alcohol as a drug,” said Jenny Hwang, associate dean of students and director of the counseling center at Stony Brook University….