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SpicyWokHei t1_jckkcki wrote

I recently reached out for help after years of substance abuse. It's not opioid addiction, but alcohol. I had to see the doctor and counselor once a month. For me to be prescribed Naltrexone, I had to take a urine test for a tox screening. Each visit I had a $20 co pay and had to pay out of pocket $488 dollars. That is WITH insurance that I get through my employer.

I had to recently cancel my last appointment because I paid nearly $1100 in the last 2 months. $500 extra dollars a month is something I do not have.

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nickisaboss t1_jclv6f5 wrote

$500 a month for a drug that has been in the public domain for >40 YEARS.

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nouveau_user t1_jcozc4c wrote

fyi - some unions help with copays

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SpicyWokHei t1_jcr8en2 wrote

Thank you for the information and all the kind upvotes. Unfortunately I work in a field that has never been unionized anywhere in the United States. I don't want to go into the line of work I do, but I appreciate looking out for a fellow stranger :)

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oldschoolskater OP t1_jckg1il wrote

Opioid and other drug addiction treatment shouldn't cost low income residents money as long as they follow through with the prescribed treatment imo.

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libananahammock t1_jckkecz wrote

It often takes many many tries at rehab and other forms of quitting for the ones that have actually made it stick and have been sober long term. And even then, it normally takes having a support system on top of just the programs.

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[deleted] t1_jcl7t5x wrote

[deleted]

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bk1285 t1_jcnk0i7 wrote

As someone who works in D&A I will say I am in favor of AA/NA but not for the program and the big book…more so just for the support amongst others in your community who are also working to maintain their sobriety….addiction is a mother fucker, and is a very difficult struggle as many who are entering into treatment have left many friends behind in order to get sober….having those friends and supports who are sober and who can be there for you are very important. One of the larger reasons for relapse I’ve come across is boredom/loneliness. You become sober and you can’t hang out with the people you used to due to triggers with wanting to use, but eventually for some that loneliness does become to much.

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oldschoolskater OP t1_jcklysr wrote

Yep. I've had several family members go through it. I guess my idea would be as long as you follow through with treatment and made an honest effort. I'm completely aware the first round rarely works.

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Excelius t1_jcktzqf wrote

To be fair, the same thing could be said for any medical condition. People increasingly can't afford their deductibles and co-pays regardless of the nature of the condition being treated.

Mental Health Parity just means the same shitty coverage as everything else.

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decrementsf t1_jclaqsc wrote

Assume the services providing that care have become cartel frauds. Learning to convert that service into a bottomless money printer. What happens when the money printer runs out?

My opinion is the money printer is currently broken, the subsidized skimming from the pool in good times has hit an impasse due to dicey economic conditions. The system has a big rock stuck in it. System needs a creative destruction and rebuild.

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GareBear222 t1_jcoltzf wrote

How else do you make them stay low income drug addicts though? /s

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Popular-Variation-29 t1_jcmx5rj wrote

Wtf about almost literally everyone else who can't afford normal dr co-pays or mental health co-pays?

It's not their fault either.

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dudettte t1_jckzzxf wrote

that is so necessary.

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decrementsf t1_jclckkk wrote

Some reframes that are helpful for some.

  • Alcohol is poison. If alcohol is your thing, try a Whoop fitness band or similar tracker. Have peers who visually being able to see this helped them quit and stick with it. Others who got stuck on the idea that 'Alcohol is poison' every time they took a sip, and broke habits that way.

  • Is that really who you are? Your human operating system is the story you tell yourself that guides your behaviors. You can write your own. If you do not write your own, usually someone else writes one for you. Your operating system can be a useful tool. Or a mental prison. There's no lock on that prison. You may see this applied in AA or NA by a sponsor. After being prompted to share your story they may hit you with that question, "Is that really who you are"? Can nudge someone into considering the question and re-writing their story into something more useful. A narrative running in the back of your mind works. This is what the military is doing with the Navy Seals Creed, useful example of one framework you can author your own.

  • Systems are better than goals. "I'm not going to drink all week" is a goal. After a week, cool! I did it. Now what? That empty feeling afterwards is the place your goal used to be. Instead something like "I exercise 30 minutes every day" is a system. Every day you wake up with a new goal useful for motivation. This is the lever in your brain to create endless motivation. You can run as a system of subsystems, which through repetition become habits. One of those systems can be continuously roll bad habits into a slightly less bad habit. Over time this 1% better every day compounds into huge behavior changes.

Call me not a fan of waiting for some governance solution. I prefer my storytelling narrative to include nobody is going to do it for me, better to just start putting force behind the things I want for me. While we talk about funding maybe we can brainstorm more ways to take the edge off.

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