New Definition of Addiction Highlights Addiction As a Chronic Brain Disease
The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) has announced a new definition of addiction, nothing that addiction is "a primary, chronic disease of brain reward, motivation, memory and related circuitry." The release of this definition is the first time ASAM has taken an official position that addiction is not solely a behavioral and/or substance abusing problem. Read the full definition here.
Making Parity Real Series Concludes in Madison
The Community Advocates Public Policy Institute held the Making Parity Real Final Conference in Madison on Aug. 10. The Final Conference is the culmination of the statewide Making Parity Real series of symposia, designed to help shape the future of addiction and mental health treatment in Wisconsin. Each symposium featured a moderated dialogue among state policymakers and northcentral Wisconsin stakeholders to assess the major state policy challenges facing addiction and mental health services in Wisconsin.
For more information -- including a link to full video of the conference, visit www.MakingParityReal.org.
Online Mental Health, Addiction Directory Includes Info on 400 Agencies
The Milwaukee Addiction Treatment Initiative (MATI) is pleased to announce the Mental Health, Wellness, and Addiction Services Directory, a searchable, online database of more than 400 Milwaukee-area mental health, and alcohol and other drug addiction (AODA) agencies.
The directory -- a joint venture of MATI and Mental Health America-Wisconsin -- allows users to search through 17 different categories of providers to find the agencies that most accurately meet their needs. In addition to mental health and AODA services, users can search for agencies expert in providing services for sexual assault, domestic violence, basic needs, and youth and family services, among others.
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Other directory search features include client populations served, such as adults, families, veterans and Spanish-speaking clients; intake protocols, types of insurance accepted and hours of operation.
Additionally, clients can conduct searches across multiple categories, ensuring they receive a comprehensive list of the most appropriate providers available.
The directory, which was originally launched in 2008 as an online version of Mental Health America's popular print directory, includes detailed program descriptions for each agency and allows users to locate agencies by location.
Rob Cherry, Community Advocates Public Policy Institute Public Health Systems Coordinator, was instrumental in adding the AODA component to the Mental Health America-Wisconsin's existing mental health directory.
"I thank Mental Health America-Wisconsin, especially project lead Cara Hansen, for their hard work and vision in not only making this resource available, but also recognizing the importance of adding AODA providers to the database," Cherry said. "As we all know, when someone suffers from a substance use disorder there is likely a mental health need that is not being met. Now, thanks to this directory, clients, family and other providers have at their disposal the entire spectrum of services available to them in Milwaukee, including both mental health and AODA."
The directory will be updated on an ongoing basis, and future improvements will expand the directory to include all therapists that offer services, as well as supportive services and groups. Agencies who wish to be included can add themselves to the database by visiting "Add Your Organization to Our Directory," and can update their information by submitting a change request.
The directory includes resources in the Greater Milwaukee area; resources in areas outside of Milwaukee are available in the "Statewide Resources" section.
Unforseen Benefits: Addiction Treatment Reduces
Health Care Costs
This white paper from the Closing the Addiction Treatment Gap initiative shows that providing treatment to Americans suffering from an addiction to alcohol and drugs will lead to substantial health care savings totaling billions of dollars over a decade. This white paper cites studies showing that addiction treatment will help to decrease emergency room visits and shorten hospital stays, as well as reduce the complications associated with addiction’s effects on chronic illnesses and other conditions.
Download "Unforseen Benefits: Addiction Treatment Reduces Health Care Costs" (PDF)
A Groundbreaking Collaboration
The Milwaukee Addiction Treatment Initiative (MATI) is a collaboration among more than 80 local and state organizations—including law enforcement, public health agencies, treatment providers and advocates—to expand access to drug and alcohol treatment for everyone in Milwaukee County and the State of Wisconsin who needs it. MATI was launched in the fall of 2008.
Milwaukee County currently suffers from a substantial “treatment gap”—the difference between the number of people who need treatment for substance use disorders and those who actually receive it. In 2004, the last year for which we have data, more than 82,000 people needed but did not receive treatment for substance use disorders in Milwaukee County. The 2009 “State Estimates of Substance Use from the 2005-2006 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health” study by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) showed that in Wisconsin as a whole, 21 percent of individuals age 18-25 needed but did not receive treatment for alcohol use, compared to 17 percent nationally. Nationally, only about one in 10 people of all ages who need treatment receive it.
MATI is successfully pursuing two approaches to closing the addiction treatment gap:
- Advocacy for expanded health insurance and parity.
MATI works to ensure that everyone in Wisconsin has health insurance that includes substance use disorder and mental health coverage on a parity basis. The Public Policy Institute played a major role in 2009-10 in Wisconsin’s decision to require parity in the BadgerCare Benchmark Plan and in persuading the Legislature and Governor to enact the Wisconsin Parity Act, which requires small and large group insurance policies sold in the state to cover substance use disorder and mental health treatment on a parity basis. We are also involved in the Legislature’s effort to implement national health insurance.
- Facilitating improved treatment delivery:
MATI also plays a lead role in helping to integrate the delivery of substance use disorder treatment services in Milwaukee County with mental health services, other health services, and employment, housing and other supportive services. In 2009-10, we worked to include up-to-date information about local substance use disorder providers in the searchable, web-based directory of mental health providers created by Mental Health America-Wisconsin. Additionally, MATI is working to improve services for people suffering from substance use disorder so that they are identified appropriately, assessed accurately, and receive timely and ongoing treatment as needed.
MATI is sponsored by a national grant from the Open Society Foundations with additional local funding from the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, Helen Bader Foundation and the Zilber Family Foundation.
