Insurers have to pay for addiction treatment. Trump just has to enforce the law.
President Trump  arrives in the East Room of the White House on Oct. 26 to speak and sign a presidential memorandum declaring the opioid crisis a national public health emergency. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)
In an October report on opioidsâ impact on New England communities  The Postâs Joel Achenbach described the nationâs opioid crisis as âa decentralized disaster that authorities understand they cannot solve with handcuffs and prison bars alone.â Indeed  pretty much everyone  up to and including  President Trump   is on board â at least rhetorically â with the idea that the crisis must be tackled in a manner more comprehensive than the usual law enforcement approach.
Last month   Trump  declared the epidemic a public health emergency  calling it the âworst drug crisis in American history â adding that âaddressing it will require all of our effort  and it will require us to confront the crisis in all of  its  very real complexity.â
Strong words. Too bad Trumpâs administration wonât use a tool that is immediately available and could bring treatment to millions of Americans.
[ President Trump  thinks  he  understands addiction.  He âs wrong.]
The failure â or unwillingness â to use this weapon as part of a national opioid strategy flies in the face of Trumpâs pledge to spend âa lot of time  a lot of effort and a lot of money on the opioid crisis.â So far  the only effort to enforce key Parity Act provisions has come from private attorneys â but the lawsuits I and others are pursuing are not enough. Initiatives announced by Trump  or by Congress  may take hold at some point  but thereâs no reason for our leaders to wait. The law is there right now. It just needs to be enforced.
[TGT] arrives in the East Room of the White House on Oct. 26 to speak and sign a presidential memorandum declaring the opioid crisis a national public health emergency. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)
In an October report on opioidsâ impact on New England communities  The Postâs Joel Achenbach described the nationâs opioid crisis as âa decentralized disaster that authorities understand they cannot solve with handcuffs and prison bars alone.â Indeed  pretty much everyone  up to and including   [TGT] is on board â at least rhetorically â with the idea that the crisis must be tackled in a manner more comprehensive than the usual law enforcement approach.
Last month    [TGT] declared the epidemic a public health emergency  calling  [TGT]  the âworst drug crisis in American history â adding that âaddressing  [TGT]  will require all of our effort  and  [TGT]  will require us to confront the crisis in all of   [TGT]   very real complexity.â
Strong words. Too bad Trumpâs administration wonât use a tool that is immediately available and could bring treatment to millions of Americans.
[  [TGT] thinks   [TGT]   understands addiction.   [TGT]  âs wrong.]
The failure â or unwillingness â to use this weapon as part of a national opioid strategy flies in the face of Trumpâs pledge to spend âa lot of time  a lot of effort and a lot of money on the opioid crisis.â So far  the only effort to enforce key Parity Act provisions has come from private attorneys â but the lawsuits I and others are pursuing are not enough. Initiatives announced by  [TGT] or by Congress  may take hold at some point  but thereâs no reason for our leaders to wait. The law is there right now. It just needs to be enforced.