LNP: Lancaster County commissioners this week approved shifting $296,000 to restore inpatient treatment for those suffering from drug and alcohol addictions. The money will provide treatment for about 100 people, mostly for heroin addictions, over the next two months. As of July 1, the county’s Drug and Alcohol Commission goes back to the budget that left it without funding only five months into the fiscal year.
[Rick Kastner, executive director of the county’s Drug and Alcohol Commission,] agreed, saying he could easily spend $2 million or $3 million more on addiction treatment than he gets each year…
The wait, Kastner said, often means no treatment for some. Those suffering drug or alcohol addictions don’t wait even the couple of weeks it might take to see if they qualify for Medicaid, he said, so the department often covers them until their applications are processed… (more)
WATCHDOG: Three wags of the tail for this well researched and insightful article. For decades, The Steinman foundation and LNP have been enlightened when it comes to harm reduction efforts that often enable addicts to return to jobs and loved ones.
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