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Re: In review: substance abuse op-ed

Sounds good. Sent from my iPhone On Aug 16, 2015, at 8:33 PM, Ann O'Leary <aoleary@hillaryclinton.com> wrote: Hi all - I am hearing separately that even with this change that the screenings could be misconstrued and likely more trouble than they are worth. Let's kill it and I'll revisit it as a good policy idea on the other side of this election but not one for campaign fodder. Here is my suggestion for four full points: That’s why I’m releasing a comprehensive strategy [LINK] to confront the drug addiction crisis head-on. My plan sets four goals: first, ensuring every American family has access to affordable and effective treatments; second, ensuring that our mental health parity laws are fully enforced so that insurance practices are not a barrier to substance abuse treatment; third, ensuring all first responders have access to naloxone, which stops overdoses from becoming fatal; and fourth, requiring that all health-care providers receive training in recognizing substance use disorders and consult a prescription drug monitoring program before providing opiates. Does this work for everyone? Thanks, Ann On Sun, Aug 16, 2015 at 4:58 PM, Ann O'Leary <aoleary@hillaryclinton.com> wrote: > Hi all - > > Sorry I was out of pocket for a few hours. On a flight now to raise $$ > for all of us in Oklahoma - the things we do!! > > Anyhow, here is the deal: > > (1) The American Academy of Pediatrics came out with a strong policy > statement in 2011 > <https://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/pages/AAP-Recommends-Substance-Abuse-Screening-as-Part-of-Routine-Adolescent-Care.aspx> > that every child/teenager should be screened for substance abuse disorders > when they visit the doctor for their annual child check up or for an accute > care visit in which it might be suspected. HRC has a long history of > working with AAP and supporting their efforts to do more screenings. When > she was First Lady, she worked on the Newborn Hearing Screening to make > sure all babies get hearing screenings, and in the last several years she > has pushed for and supported the AAP's effort to screen young kids for > symptoms of "toxic stress." This is not "mandatory," but it is part of > prevention and wellness and it is about supporting the AAP in making this > happen by raising awareness, making sure pediatricians get reimbursed for > their time in doing these screenings, etc. I have tried to clarify with > edits to the speech, pasted below and attached. > > (2) On Mandy's question about mental health parity, I have added a line. > > (3) On Karen's question of whether we reached out to urban leaders, we > talked to a number of policy experts who serve urban communities. Maya is > going to work with political to be sure we do political outreach to leaders > in next 48 hours. > > (4) On Karen's suggestion, that she alludes to problems in her own family > - I have modified accordingly. > > (5) On Nick's question about specialized care, we are good with it as > Kristina noted - but let me know if you have further concerns. > > I am also attaching our final fact sheet. If all are good, we should get > her this draft op-ed together with the fact sheet. Let me know if you have > more questions or concerns. > > Thanks, > Ann > > *DRAFT substance abuse op-ed* > > > > WC: 822 words > > > > I was on my first trip to New Hampshire this spring, in a Keene bakery, > when a retired doctor spoke up. I had just announced I was running for > president, and I had traveled to Iowa and New Hampshire to hear directly > from voters about their concerns, their hopes, and their vision for the > future. He said his biggest worry was the rising tide of heroin addiction > in the state, the result of a wave of prescription drug abuse. He said > hospitals were seeing more babies born addicted, that police officers were > responding to more overdoses, that families were being torn apart. > > > > To be candid, I didn’t expect what came next. In several states, this > issue crept up again and again – from so many people, from all walks of > life, in small towns and big cities. > > > > In Iowa, from Davenport to Council Bluffs, people spoke to me about meth > and prescription drugs, and scores of lives upended. In South Carolina, a > lawyer spoke movingly about the holes in the community left by generations > of black men who ended up imprisoned for non-violent drug offenses rather > than getting the treatment they needed. > > > > These stories shine light on some harrowing statistics. Nearly 23 million > Americans suffer from addiction, but in 2014, only 2.5 million were able to > receive treatment at a specialized facility. Fifty-two million Americans > over the age of 12 have abused prescription drugs, including one in four > teenagers. In 2014, more Americans died from overdoses than car crashes. > > > > Enough is enough. It’s time we recognize as a nation that we have a quiet > epidemic on our hands. Plain and simple, drug addiction is a disease, not a > moral failing—and we must treat it as such. > > > > It’s time we recognize as a nation that there are gaps in our health care > system that allow too many sufferers to go without care—and invest > substantially more in prevention and treatment. > > > > It’s time we recognize as a nation that our state and federal prisons, > where 65 percent of inmates meet the medical criteria for substance use > disorders, are no substitute for drug treatment—and reform our criminal > justice system. > > > > That’s why I’m releasing a comprehensive strategy [LINK] to confront the > drug addiction crisis head-on. My plan sets four goals: first, ensuring > every American family has access to affordable and effective treatments; second, > ensuring that we work with pediatricians to be sure that every child and > teenager is educated about and screened for substance use disorders as part > of their annual doctor’s visit, just as we do for hearing, eyesight, > developmental delays and so much more; third, ensuring all first > responders have access to naloxone, which stops overdoses from becoming > fatal; and fourth, requiring that all health-care providers receive > training in recognizing substance use disorders and consult a prescription > drug monitoring program before providing opiates. > > > > Achieving these goals won’t be easy. It’s going to take real commitment > from all corners—law enforcement, doctors, insurance companies, schools, > and governments. That’s why my plan starts by increasing funding for the > Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant by 25 percent, so > states and localities have more resources to work with, and changing rules > that arbitrarily limit how many patients can be treated with medication > assisted treatment, a proven intervention for opiate addiction. I will also > direct the federal government to re-evaluate Medicare and Medicaid payment > practices, to remove obstacles to reimbursement for patients seeking help and > promote greater coordination of care. And I will make sure that our > mental health parity laws are fully enforced so that insurance practices > are not a barrier to substance abuse treatment. > > > > But we can't stop there. As President, I will do everything I can to > partner with states and communities across America to meet the four > goals—treatment, prevention, overdose intervention, and improved prescriber > practices. We’ll ask states to design ambitious plans for tackling these > four goals using the programs that make most sense for their citizens’ > needs and challenges. In return for strong plans to address the substance > abuse crisis, the federal government will draw on a new $5 billion fund to > help states meet their goals. > > > > Every town I’ve visited so far in this campaign has stories of families > upended by drug addiction. But across the country, I’ve also heard about > second chances. The young mother who overcame addictions to alcohol and > heroin so her son would never see her with a drink or a drug in her hand. > The man who served 11 years in prison who is now serving others through a > prison ministry. > > > > They all say the same thing: no matter how much time has passed, no matter > how different their lives are today, they’re all still in recovery. It’s a > process—one that began when a family member, a friend, a doctor, a police > officer extended a hand to help. As one New Hampshire woman said, “We're > not bad people trying to get good, we're sick people who deserve to get > well.” > > > > There are 23 million Americans suffering from addiction. There are untold > millions more. No one is untouched – we all have family and friends who are > affected. We can’t afford to stay on the sidelines any longer—because > when families are strong, America is strong. Through improved treatment, > prevention, and training, we can end this quiet epidemic once and for all. > > > > > > On Sun, Aug 16, 2015 at 3:57 PM, Kristina Costa <kcosta@hillaryclinton.com > > wrote: > >> On the screening point, will let policy get into details, but it's the >> major pillar of the 'prevention' goal. Would folks be more comfortable if >> it said something like [CAPS=ADDITION] "ensuring every child and teenager >> is annually screened for substance use DISORDERS, JUST AS THEY ARE ALREADY >> SCREENED FOR OTHER ILLNESSES"? >> >> schools and doctors regularly screen for all sorts of diseases, and >> substance abuse screening /= random drug testing. >> >> On the "specialized facilities," the stat comes from the NIH's National >> Institute on Drug Abuse and includes all facilities licensed or certified >> by state substance abuse agencies to provide treatment. So think it's easy >> to answer Politifact when they try to get cute. >> >> + Ann, per Maya's add >> >> >> On Sun, Aug 16, 2015 at 6:45 PM, Nick Merrill < >> nmerrill@hillaryclinton.com> wrote: >> >>> I'm piling on at this point, but without knowing the background or the >>> particulars, the mandatory testing piece is troubling to me. Not to >>> mention I probably wouldn't have passed at times in my younger >>> years...I bet I'm not the only one.* >>> >>> And on the statistic about 2.5 million people receiving treatment at a >>> "specialized facility," can someone explain what that means? Just >>> want to make sure we're not trying to be too cute, that there aren't >>> perfectly viable treatment alternatives that lie outside of the term. >>> Our friends from PolitiFact as always in the back of my mind. >>> >>> >>> *(Joel?) >>> >>> On Aug 16, 2015, at 6:13 PM, Jesse Ferguson >>> <jferguson@hillaryclinton.com> wrote: >>> >>> Flagging - goal had been to get this to HRC on Saturday night but it has >>> been held till tonight as the other elements of the rollout (video, etc.) >>> are debated. >>> >>> AKA - ideally would like to send it in tonight for her review so we can >>> have final on Monday for Wednesday AM placement. >>> >>> ----- >>> -- Ann O'Leary Senior Policy Advisor Hillary for America Cell: 510-717-5518