The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence fights the stigma and the disease of alcoholism and other drug addictions.

NCADD News Release

For More Information, Contact: Jeffrey Hon, Director for Public Information

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For Immediate Release:

SENATOR WELLSTONE AND REPRESENTATIVE RAMSTAD HONORED FOR THEIR EFFORTS TO END DISCRIMINATION AGAINST ADDICTED PERSONS

During a ceremony hosted by its Minnesota State Affiliate, the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc. (NCADD) today (September 29) honored Senator Paul Wellstone and Representative Jim Ramstad for their bipartisan efforts in Congress to end discrimination against addicted persons by private health insurers. "Parity remains our number-one legislative priority," declared Stacia Murphy, NCADD president, "and no one in Congress has done more than these progressive men to try to ensure that alcoholism and other drug addictions are treated like other chronic diseases. Only stigma prevents insurance companies and many members of Congress from supporting legislation introduced by Senator Wellstone and Representative Ramstad that would save both lives and money, and reduce the terrible toll that alcohol and other drugs exact on our society." Senator Wellstone, with six co-sponsors, introduced the Fairness in Treatment: The Drug and Alcohol Addiction Recovery Act of 1999 (S. 1447) which prohibits group health plans from imposing treatment limitations or financial requirements on substance abuse treatment benefits unless they also are imposed for other medical and surgical benefits. When introducing the bill, which was referred to committee, Senator Wellstone observed "It has been shown that some forms of addiction have a genetic basis, and yet we still try to deny the serious medical nature of this disease. We think of those with this disease as somehow different from us. We forget that someone who has a problem with drugs or alcohol can look just like the person we see in the mirror, or the person who is sitting next to us at work or on the subway, or like someone in our own family." Representative Ramstad, with 56 co-sponsors, introduced the Harold Hughes, Bill Emerson Substance Abuse Treatment Parity Act (H.R. 1977) also in 1999. It increases access to treatment by prohibiting discriminatory caps, higher deductibles and copayments, limited treatment stays or any other restrictions unique to substance abuse. When introducing the bill, which also was referred to committee, Representative Ramstad noted how the legislation had personal significance. "As a recovering alcoholic myself, I know firsthand the value of treatment," he said. "As a recovering person of almost 18 years, I am absolutely alarmed by the dwindling access to treatment for people who need it . . . we must act now to reverse this alarming trend." The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc. fights the stigma and the disease of alcoholism and other drug addictions. Founded in 1944 by Marty Mann, the first woman to find long-term sobriety in Alcoholics Anonymous, NCADD provides education, information, help and hope to the public. It advocates prevention, intervention and treatment through offices in New York and Washington, and a nationwide network of Affiliates. 9/00

National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc.

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