Marianne T. Gilkey
Bellmawr, NJ

“I firmly believe that if my daughter had been treated for her addiction with the same diligence as if she had diabetes or a heart condition, she would have had the tools from the beginning to learn to handle her addiction and live a productive life."

>>>>I am employed by the county government and was always under the impression that I had excellent medical insurance coverage that is until my daughter required treatment for her addiction to heroin. Our family doctor recommended long-term inpatient care as the appropriate level of care for my daughter. However, there was a $20,000 lifetime benefit cap for mental health/substance abuse under my insurance coverage. My daughter quickly went through her $20,000 allotment. The insurance company would only pay for inpatient detox of five to seven days and outpatient treatment. My daughter desperately needed long-term inpatient care and was not able to access the treatment she needed to address her addiction.

My daughter was attending college when heroin literally took over her life. At the age of 19 she was homeless, going through the revolving door of detoxes and rehabs, in and out of county jails and eventually her behavior brought her through the criminal justice system to the state prison for women in Clinton. Even in prison she was not eligible for their drug program because her sentence was not long enough. When released from prison, she initiated the contacts to enter an intensive supervision program. She was still covered under my insurance plan; however, she had exhausted her mental health/substance abuse benefit. Her program was funded by the state - our tax dollars!

The irony in all of this is that while the insurance company would not pay for my daughter's treatment for addiction, they were willing pay for her treatment for hepatitis C contracted as a result of her drug use.

I firmly believe that if my daughter had been treated for her addiction with the same diligence as if she had diabetes or a heart condition, she would have had the tools from the beginning to learn to handle her addiction and live a productive life.

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