ASAM Examines Addiction Treatment Insurance Reform: Will 'Parity' End Discrimination?

MIAMI, April 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) hosts two events at its annual Medical-Scientific conference today that explore the history, data, and the politics behind the long struggle for parity in healthcare coverage for addiction treatment. The first event, a morning policy plenary, investigates the approaches and experiences that have been successful in achieving parity at the state level and aims to translate those into suggestions for action at the national level. The second event is an afternoon symposium that examines the various data that support (and sometimes undercut) the parity argument.

The ASAM is Committed to Improving the Treatment of People Suffering with Addictions

The American Society of Addiction Medicine is an association of physicians dedicated to improving the treatment of alcoholism and other addictions, educating physicians and medical students, promoting research and prevention, and enlightening and informing the medical community and the public about these issues. ASAM physicians are multidisciplinary and can be found working in any number of primary care settings from hospitals to private practices to public health clinics. Given the breadth of ASAM members' backgrounds and, subsequently, their experiences with the treatment of addictive disorders, ASAM is in a unique position to comment on the consequences of discriminatory insurance laws on both the public and private sectors.

The Public Needs to Know

Addiction is a chronic disease and it is treatable like so many other chronic illnesses. Unfortunately, the true nature of addiction is still largely misunderstood by the public. Consequently, most are also ill-informed about the availability of effective treatments and the positive societal externalities associated with them.

ASAM is eager to educate the public and its lawmakers about addiction, the efficacy of available treatments, and the wisdom in parity in healthcare coverage. ASAM and its membership is actively advocating for state and federal legislation that breaches this gap in insurance coverage for people suffering with addictions. Its leadership and members alike welcome requests for all manner of support related to achieving parity.

For information regarding 2007 Federal parity legislation: http://www.asam.org/legislationupdate.html For more information on the American Society of Addiction Medicine: http://www.asam.org/ For specific inquiries: ageier@asam.org