Tolerating waiting lists – why?

In Anchorage, Alaska, it’s being proposed that the budget allocation for methadone treatment be increased to permit the “patient capacity” in a local clinic to be raised from 75 to 100. But . . . there are today 23 people on the waiting list for that program, and surely many times that number would seek help if it were available. The depth of the tragic inadequacy of care is illustrated by the comment attributed to State Senator Johnny Ellis: “We heard of at least two women who got pregnant on purpose so that they could get treatment at the methadone clinic. But they were so short of treatment that even pregnant women were having a hard time getting in.” How can that be? Imagine a pre-natal clinic turning away pregnant women (with or without drug dependency) and placing them on waiting lists because they were “all filled up”! There seems to be a lack of outrage – and not only in Anchorage! News report 20 April click here