an ignorant ? (from me) about who pays for any treatment

[freeplessinseattle]

in a drug or alcohol related crime? I am pretty clueless, obviously, so please don't laugh, but I'm trying to build an argument for more mental health funding and figure if drug and alcohol treatment is paid for, even in part, by the gov't that would make a compelling argument for general memtal health funding. For some reason I remember friends back in talking about having to go to inpatient tx after getting busted and I know they had no money to pay for it, was it maybe added to court costs and they made payments or something? I know that domestic violence abusers have to take an anger-management class that they pay for themselves (and rightly should, in my opinion, abusing is not an impulse-control disorder, they can usually control themselves just fine out in public. usually.)

I was thinking that if in fact D/A tx is supplemented in full or in part, then it is profoundly unfair that say, those with anorexia or bulimia, which are life-threatening disorders, are unable to afford treatment, either in or outpatient (inpatient runs about 10000/mo). There are of course many other examples of needed tx, but I'm just using this one bc an acquaintance really should be hospitalized, she is dangerously thin, and wants help, but can't afford anything beyond a bi weekly counselor.

I know MH funding will only be reduced further in this admin (especially if they're trying to emulate raygun) but I'm going to try on the local level. why the heck not?

[jody]

1. Taxpayers pay for government programs, insurance pays for some, and

some individuals pay for their treatment.

Bottom line is that the poor and needy are usually left out.

[recovering democrat]

2. local health department

I have been out of this field for a while, but most court-ordered and personal drug/alcohol and other mental health treatment was handled by the local health department if it was not paid or coordinated by individuals who had the means or health insurance themselves to pay for it.

You may want to contact your local health department to see if anything is available at all for the type issues you reference.

Local systems have always been badly underfunded for everything in this field.

[pamela]

3. Combination of funding.

I worked in an out-patient drug and alcohol treatment clinic in the 90's. At that time most of our funding came from the state with a few federal grants thrown in when we could get them. Many of our clients were court-orderred into treatment. All clients, voluntary and court-orderred, paid a fee based on a sliding scale. When we needed to refer someone for inpatient treatment there were a few facilities that received state funding who would also accept clients on a sliding fee scale but there was usually a long waiting list. Private drug and alcohol treatment programs would not accept people without insurnce, for the most part. There is a trend in out-patient drug treatment programs today towards accepting third-party (insurance) payments. The problem is that too many programs are now letting the insurance company dictate standards for treatment planning.

Sorry, I digressed a bit there. Personally, I think all areas of mental health treatment need more funding. Alcohol and drug treatment programs do receive more state and federal monies than other programs, though. In my experience, the people who were court orderred to treatment were treated pretty much the same as the voluntary clients in terms of fees and treatment planning. The only exception is that we never put voluntary clients on the waiting list. We did put court-orderred clients on the waiting list if there was no immediate medical need for treatment.

[freeplessinseattle]

4. thank you all! that is helpful, and gives some hope to my friend

many people don't take eating disorders seriously as an illness, especially a life-threatening one (besides a high rate of suicide, heart complications in both anorexics and bulimics happens more often than many realize, among other problems with the body shutting down). It's just so frustrating to watch her waste away and she seems to have almost given up on life, but what can I expect, though, when the us health care system lets people die everyday from lack of treatment and unaffordable meds. so why would they even care if Western State hospital is too crowded to take care even a small fraction of the mentally ill homeless, no raygun took care of that, but never figured out how to dispose of the undesirable stigmatized mentally ill, the lepers of modern society. One other reason I mourn Gore's stolen victory , I think Tipper could have been a great MH advocate, and greatly admire her for talking freely about her manic-depression.