Beyond Addiction

A disclaimer off the bat: Unless you're an insider, you might find this column uninteresting.

But read on if you earn a living helping addicts and alcoholics and their families — if you're a counselor, a therapist, a government lobbyist, the head of a trade association, an agency director, a social worker, an employee assistance expert, a policy wonk, an insurance gatekeeper or anyone else who knows I'm talking about you.

Keep reading, too, if you've earned back your life as a person in recovery from alcoholism or addiction to another drug or if you are a family member who loves somebody with the illness you despise.

If you've gotten this far, then take heed, because this is our moment, and here's why.

Health care isn't reform any longer. It's implementation. And addiction treatment is part of it. At the same time, by law, insurance companies no longer can deny equal access to addiction services for people who need help. On the policy front, "we the people" on both sides of the aisle finally appear malleable to a different approach to the failed drug war. (Sorry, but I still oppose legalization.) Science is conquering the mysteries of addiction to improve treatment prospects. Philanthropists see treatment programs as missions worth supporting. In places such as Sioux Falls, S.D., St. Paul, Minn., Hartford, Conn., and Portland, Maine, "recovery community organizations" are full speed ahead in their goal to connect alcoholics and addicts to the real world of the rest of their lives. More and more of us, too, are celebrating our lives out in the open in public rallies at state capitols, marches and voter registration drives. Even the news media no longer are fixated solely on celebrity addiction. Instead, the good news that recovery is possible no matter who you are or aren't is making headlines.

And coming this spring is the coast-to-coast premiere of a powerful new documentary, "The Anonymous People," by talented young filmmaker Greg Williams.

But none of this will really matter unless all of us "insiders" pay attention, start talking a common language and stop circling the wagons and shooting inward. So here is our call to action:

Get involved in your state's implementation of the federal Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare). It covers addiction treatment and recovery support services, but unless you take interest and take action, then people won't get what they need and what they deserve under the law.

Ditto treatment coverage in private health insurance. Four years after Congress passed treatment equity for mental illnesses and addiction, the Obama administration finally is adding teeth to the law. But it won't have a bite without your active engagement to ensure that insurance companies obey the law and don't deny consumers their right to access services.

Stop using the term "substance abuse." Addicts and alcoholics never abuse substances. We love them. And unlike child, domestic, animal or sexual abuse, addiction to substances is a real illness, not a problem-driven behavior. As professionals, we sell ourselves short and mislabel our patients and clients by calling them "substance abusers" and describing what we do as "substance abuse treatment." No, we provide "addiction treatment to people struggling with alcohol or other drugs."

Stop fighting among ourselves. I swear, sometimes our field is more dysfunctional than the people we help. Addiction treatment providers are fixated on attacking one another over how we treat patients, protecting turf and making audacious claims of success at the expense of one another and what is necessary for us to mount a united front. If we don't come together, then only we're to blame for failing to meet this call to action — and, ultimately, for failing to help those who still suffer.

William Moyers is the vice president of public affairs and community relations for the Hazelden Foundation and the author of "Broken," his best-selling memoirs. His new book, "Now What? An Insider's Guide to Addiction and Recovery," has just been published. Please send your questions to William Moyers at wmoyers@hazelden.org. To find out more about William Moyers and read his past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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