This spring, two members of California’s congressional delegation once again distinguished themselves as champions of substance abuse treatment. Rep. Mary-Bono Mack of Palm Springs and Rep. Doris Matsui of Sacramento both took action that has the full support of CAADAC.
Ms. Bono-Mack, long a champion of sub- stance abuse treatment and prevention, has taken her passionate and personal fight against prescription drug abuse to new heights. She has formed the Pre- scription Drug Abuse Caucus, which is dedicated to formulating policies that will bring attention and resources to this fight. Her partner in this effort is Rep. Hal Rogers of Kentucky. Representatives Bill Delahunt (MA-10), Stephen Lynch (MA-09) and Connie Mack (FL-14) are also original caucus members.
While those in the treatment field have long known about the dangers of prescription drug abuse, and how it has out- paced addiction to illicit drugs for dec- ades, Congress is now taking notice, due to several recent high profile deaths, such as Michael Jackson, Brittany Murphy, and Heath Ledger. Ms. Bono-Mack has a well-documented history with this issue, as her son received treatment from the Betty Ford Center for addiction to Oxycontin. The first public event for the caucus is scheduled to take place on September 22, focused on new ideas for prescrip- tion drug monitoring programs.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, nearly 7 million people are utilizing prescription drugs for non- medical purposes. Nearly one-third of individuals who began abusing drugs in the past year reported their first drug was a prescription drug, and one out of every five new drug abusers is initiating use with potent narcotics, such as oxycodone, hydrocodone and methadone. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) indicates illegal prescription drug diversion is the fastest growing drug threat nationwide.
Rep. Doris Matsui, who represents the region of Sacramento where CAADAC makes its home, is sponsoring legislation that could have quite an impact on the entire behavioral health field. The Com- munity Mental Health and Addiction Safety Net Equity Act of 2010 amends the Public Health Service Act to replace community mental health centers with federally qualified behavioral health centers which treat substance abuse in addition to mental illness and other con- ditions. HR 5636 will, if passed, estab- lish standards for Federally Qualified Behavioral Health Centers (FQBHC), de- signed to serve as part of the new “safety net” in this new era of health care. It would amend title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to extend Medicaid coverage to the FQBHCs.
The bill directs the Institute of Medicine to: (1) evaluate for Congress the com- bined paperwork burden of federally qualified behavioral health centers; and, more importantly for the counseling fields (2) analyze and report to Con- gress on the compensation structure of professional and paraprofessional personnel employed by federally qualified behavioral health centers nationwide as compared with the compensation structure of comparable health safety net providers and relevant private sector health care employers. Currently, the language of the legisla- tion applies to the “compensation structure of professional and paraprofessional personnel employed by federally qualified behavioral health centers certified under section 1913 (c) of the Public Health Service Act.” I have met on two occasions with the legislative staff of Rep. Matsui, and we are making every effort to ensure that substance abuse counselors are included in the study.
Regards,
Andrew
