Addictions Treatment Blog

With all of the hoopla over health care reform in our country and the great debates (arguments) over what should change and how much it costs has overlooked a very important connection between wasteful government spending and drugs. Not only is Medicaid paying out enormous sums of money for prescription drugs that are often unnecessary, but it also pays for addiction treatment programs (which it should, with limitations).

We could free up billions of dollars in revenue for our country by 1.) Minimizing the amounts and types of prescriptions Medicaid pays for (such as antidepressants, methadone, anti-anxiety drugs and antipsychotics); 2.) Giving those who abuse prescriptions or street drugs no more than 3 opportunities to get clean and sober in order to receive Medicaid benefits. If Medicaid paid a little more money for some addiction treatment centers that have highter success rates instead of those facilities that tell addicts they are hopelessly diseased for life then the chances of this happening increase dramatically.

The idea behind Medicaid is a good thing because its intention is to help people, but instead it has turned into more of a socialist system of having productive citizens pay for unproductive ones to do nothing. Not to say that everyone on Medicaid is not trying hard, but there is a very large percentage of are not and those that are working to get off of Medicaid are in the minority. If you don't believe me then go hang out a medical facility somewhere (treatment center, dentis, doctor's office, methadone clinic, etc.) that accepts Medicaid and see for yourself.

By stiffening up the criteria to receive public funding through Federal aid then we can get more people to work harder and produce more for our country and themselves and we can also free up more money in our Federal budget to put into programs that have a stronger positive effect on our nation and what's leftover will only go to those who truly need and deserve the help.