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In a time where much of the nation’s economic situation appears to continually worsen, a major component that is often overlooked that fits into both our tax dollars as well as healthcare is our drug rehabilitation programs. By changing a few things in our current system we would achieve less people on drugs, more addicts receiving treatment, less money spent on Medicaid/Medicare and therefore more money for other valuable programs while also cutting taxes so hard-working people can keep more of their own money. Sound crazy? Check this out.

Billions of dollars in taxpayers’ money is spent on government-funded treatment programs. While it’s good to help those in need we are literally wasting much of that on drug treatment centers that cannot produce any verifiable results, and even on pharmacotherapies that can actually make people worse. Just two examples of the latter point include the many thousands of people on government-sponsored methadone programs and the damaging side effects of anti-psychotic drugs that are sometimes used as catch-all treatments.

At the same time there are drug treatment facilities that get Medicaid reimbursement without having to document their success. A person can literally go through many times and we keep paying for it. Instead of holding both the treatment center and the individual accountable for their results, the addiction science field has tried to write it off as being a chronic-relapsing brain disease that is incurable – how absurd!

To begin with some type of accountability there should be a definition for success in the rehabilitation field – such as whether or not the patient is drug-free after completing the program and for what length of time. Creating a national standard and raising the expectations in order to qualify for funding would demand results. It would cut wasteful spending and help people on Medicaid to achieve the desired result.

Reducing the number of situations where certain pharmaceuticals are prescribed would also cut billions from annual spending while producing healthier, happier people as well. If a single person has a drug problem, goes to a treatment center that is paid for with government funding, is then labeled or diagnosed with a mental disorder and put on a heavy psychiatric drug, he or she often becomes eligible for Medicare disability checks after that where we pay them every month and pay for their treatments that aren’t even working! Start to multiply these numbers by thousands and then additional years and you can see how it really adds up – trillions of dollars.

By creating a responsible individual through an accountable rehabilitation system we, as a nation, can afford to pay for higher quality services while still helping more people receive treatment. Then with these people becoming more productive in life they would be off government assistance and actually be paying taxes back in to the system. More people paying for less costs equals less amount needed in taxes so more money back in the pockets of Americans.

Lucas A Catton, CCDC is the founder of Addiction Recovery Consultants and the creator of The New Face of Recovery TM movement. He is a published author and his articles about addiction and substance abuse policy have appeared in hundreds of print and online publications throughout the country. His organization currently helps hundreds of people each month find drug rehabilitation solutions through http://www.drug-alcohol-rehabs.org.

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