31 January 2003
Bush Proposes Expanded Drug Treatment
($600 million commitment targeted to help 300,000 drug addicts) (620)
Expanding treatment for drug addiction was among the initiatives
announced by President Bush in his State of the Union message January
28. The President proposes $600 million for the program, estimating
that it will provide addiction treatment for 300,000 Americans.
Following is a White House fact sheet on the initiative:
(begin fact sheet)
WHITE HOUSE PRESS OFFICE
Office of the Press Secretary
January 30, 2003
Fact Sheet: Providing Help to Heal Americans Struggling with Addiction
Today's Action
In his State of the Union Address, President Bush announced a
three-year, $600 million federal treatment initiative to help addicted
Americans find needed treatment from the most effective programs,
including faith-based and community-based organizations. This new
investment will make treatment available to help 300,000 more
Americans combat their addiction over the next three years, by
providing vouchers to individuals identified in their communities as
needing assistance. The White House Office of National Drug Control
Policy today released additional details of the President's plan.
Background on the President's Treatment Initiative
Last year, approximately 100,000 men and women seeking treatment for
drug addiction did not receive the help they needed. The President's
plan is designed to complement existing programs and ensure that
Americans struggling with addiction have access to a comprehensive
continuum of effective treatment and support service options,
including faith-based and community-based programs, and ensure that
these options are more readily available.
The President's treatment initiative is designed to help any
individual with a drug or alcohol problem who: 1) is without private
treatment coverage; and 2) has been assessed as needing assistance by
a healthcare professional in an emergency room, health clinic, school
or similar setting. This includes any Medicaid beneficiary who has
been excluded from receiving treatment in residential treatment
settings.
The program will ensure access and accountability for alcohol and drug
abuse services by allowing individuals greater choices among
appropriate programs. It would enable eligible individuals to use
federal alcohol and drug abuse vouchers to obtain help at all
effective treatment organizations, including faith-based and
community-based organizations. This would expand treatment utilization
and accountability, thereby broadening and strengthening the current
system. The program would provide a way for the Federal Government to
monitor state implementation of the program to prevent fraud and
abuse; ensure quality of care; and evaluate the effectiveness of the
program. It would also enable nonprofit and proprietary organizations
to have a greater opportunity to participate through full and open
competition.
Under the President's plan, people who are seeking drug and alcohol
treatment and support services will be assessed, presented with a
voucher to pay for a range of appropriate care and services, and then
referred to a variety of providers who offer that care.
States will work with a consortium of public and private entities to
jointly administer the program, including health care providers,
faith-based and community-based organizations, workplaces, and schools
to help alcohol and drug abusers receive vouchers for the treatment
and support services that are best suited to their individual needs.
States would be required to monitor the outcomes and costs of the
voucher program and to make adjustments based on the extent to which
improved client outcomes are or are not achieved in a cost-effective
manner.
For many Americans seeking treatment, the transforming power of faith
will now be available to heal those suffering from alcohol and drug
abuse. This new program will serve as a model for states in
administering other Department of Health and Human Services alcohol
and drug abuse grant funding permissible under proposed Charitable
Choice regulations.
For more information on the President's initiatives, please visit
www.whitehouse.gov
(end fact sheet)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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