More treatment options needed for heroin addicts

Published: April 10, 2011

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Pennsylvania spends about $80 million a year on drug treatment for addicts hooked on heroin and other opiates, including prescription drugs.

In most cases, those patients receive daily doses of methadone, a synthetic drug.

State Sen. Kim Ward has a point in seeking to limit the amount of money used for treatment. But she actually could improve treatment while controlling costs with some changes to her proposal.

Of the $80 million paid for low-income addicts to receive treatment, only $48.8 million, 61 percent, pays for the actual drugs, counseling and other aspects of treatment. The remainder, $32.2 million, pays for transportation to the nearest clinic.

That is unfortunate because that $32.2 million could pay for a great deal of treatment for sick people who need it. The reason for the high transportation costs is that there are too few clinics statewide, a circumstance fueled by knee-jerk opposition facilitated by pandering politicians who should know better.

Establishing more clinics where opiate addiction is a documented problem would vastly increase the efficiency of the program by ensuring that more of the money is dedicated to actual treatment rather than long rides.

The objectives are public health, public safety and economy. The cost of failing to provide adequate treatment is far greater than providing it, in terms of drug-supporting crime, law enforcement, incarceration, hospitalization, lost productivity and a host of other pathologies that derive from drug addiction.

Ward's proposals seek to place limits on the existing program. She would better address the issue, for sick addicts and taxpayers, by crafting policy to increase the number of clinics in order to dedicate more money to treatment than to transportation.

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