does so to a lesser degree. The original bill that passed the House would have cut more than $800 billion from the program. It hasn’t been determined yet, but the number of low-income Americans who lose insurance coverage for their substance use disorder would remain in the millions.
In 2015, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health determined that an estimated 119 million Americans aged 12 and older used prescription psychotherapeutic drugs in the past year, 44.5 percent of the population.
With 1.35 million low-income Americans suffering from an opioid use disorder, widespread first-time use points toward increases in dependence over the coming years, while only 25 percent of those people currently receive treatment. Generally, only 1 in 10 people gets treated for their addiction.
Author: Ryan Beitler
An editor and contributor to Addiction Now, Ryan Beitler is a journalist, fiction writer, musician, and travel writer. He has written for Paste Magazine, OC Weekly, numerous addiction recovery publications, and his travel blog Our Little Blue Rock. He lives in Southern California. Contact Ryan at ryanrbeitler@gmail.com or ryanb@addictionnow.com.
