TREND TO FOR - PROFIT ADDICTION TREATMENT

A study just published in J Subst Ab Treatm (vol 36, 355-365) found that in 2005, 34%of outpatient substance abuse treatment recipients obtained care in for-profit facilities compared to less than 10% ten years earlier. The bad news: not unexpectedly, for-profit services were more likely than others to refuse admission – and to terminate prematurely - based on inability to pay. The disparity was particularly great among methadone treatment programs. Of course, unequal access to care based on financial considerations is the norm in all areas of medicine in this, the wealthiest nation on earth.