ADDICTION: HEALTH CARE REFORM

Health Care Reform is a gallant subject for review by the present administration, the legislators, and each one of the American people. As an addiction counselor I am very interested in health insurance providing better and more accountable coverage for addiction prevention as well as addiction treatment. In addition to trying to understand the provisions in a very complex House Bill 3200, http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h3200/text, I am depending on NAADAC, ACCBO, and other associations for addiction professionals to help translate and disseminate the information I need to make an informed decision.

Now that the legislators are out of Washington and back to their own states, individuals like you and me can also use their knowledge to get clarification. If we depend on rumors, viral e-mails forwarded from unknown sources, and biased reporting, we are not fairly helping the democratic process. We live in an age where information is at our fingertips. Yet, when I visited the website that has the House bill printed in total, http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h3200/text, I was disheartened to see that less than 285,000 people logged on to the site out of over 300 million citizens that will be affected by this bill.

Participating in the legislative process is part of your right as a US citizen; it is important for you to have input in this process. Knowledge is power. Freedom of speech is still alive and well---DON’T GIVE YOUR VOICE AWAY to rumor, speculation, and partisan politics. Take the time to get informed, than speak YOUR informed truth from your heart. You need to know what the present bill states, you need to know who is and who isn’t supporting it including legislators and lobbyists. Sometimes we just need to “follow the money”.

Health Care in the United States absolutely needs to be reviewed, discussed, and reformed. We are now living in the 21st Century with not only new approaches to health care, but new individual thinking on what is needed. Better to stand up and take a stand on what you believe then to allow anyone to usurp your right to be heard.

Just a reminder: as the Nation is caught up in a loud debate about Health Care Reform, it is important to speak soft enough that you will be heard.

Learn more about me, MAx Fabry, and my private practice at:

http://www.lifestylechangescounseling.com