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A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE HUMAN SERVICES DEPARTMENT TO SUBMIT AN

AMENDMENT TO THE STATE MEDICAID PLAN TO PROVIDE FOR A

CONTINUUM OF REHABILITATIVE SERVICES TO PEOPLE WITH SUBSTANCE

ABUSE PROBLEMS.

WHEREAS, in 2003-2004, New Mexico had the highest rate

of past-year illicit drug dependence or abuse among persons

twelve years of age or older; and

WHEREAS, also in 2003-2004, New Mexico ranked second in

the nation for the rate of persons twelve years of age or

older who needed but did not receive treatment for illicit

drug use; and

WHEREAS, New Mexico had the fourth highest rate in the

nation of past-year alcohol dependence or abuse among persons

twelve years of age or older in 2003-2004; and

WHEREAS, New Mexico ranked fifth in the nation for the

rate of persons twelve years of age or older who needed but

did not receive treatment for alcohol abuse in 2003-2004; and

WHEREAS, New Mexico's alcohol-related chronic liver

disease death rate has increased by twenty-four percent over

the past two decades, although the rate for the nation as a

whole has decreased by twenty-one percent. More generally,

alcohol and drug abuse contribute to overall rates of

substance abuse-related deaths in New Mexico that have been

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among the highest in the nation for the past two decades; and

WHEREAS, nine of the ten leading causes of death in New

Mexico are at least partially caused by alcohol, tobacco or

other drug use; and

WHEREAS, every dollar invested in substance abuse

treatment saves taxpayers seven dollars forty-six cents

($7.46) in societal costs, and with some outpatient treatment

programs, total savings can exceed costs by a ratio of twelve

to one; and

WHEREAS, a study of Washington state's medicaid program

found that the provision of substance abuse treatment was

associated with a reduction in medical expenses of

approximately two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500)

annually. This estimated saving was equal to the cost of

treatment and represented approximately thirty-five percent of

the annual medicaid expenses incurred by welfare clients with

substance abuse problems; and

WHEREAS, nationally, patients' medical costs decreased

by thirty percent on average between the year prior to

substance abuse treatment intake and the third year following

intake. Both medicaid and non-medicaid patients showed

average declines of thirty percent in medical costs from the

baseline period to the third year following treatment

initiation; and

WHEREAS, between 2003 and 2004, a national survey showed

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that the cost of treatment or a lack of insurance for

treatment were the most common reasons for not receiving

treatment. Among those who made an unsuccessful effort to get

treatment, over forty percent reported cost or insurance

barriers as the reason for not receiving care; and

WHEREAS, in 2005, the governor's interagency substance

abuse task force recommended that the state should "[e]nhance

use of medicaid funding for substance abuse-related treatment

services"; and

WHEREAS, the state is currently spending ten million

dollars ($10,000,000) for substance abuse treatment without

receiving federal matching funds;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF

REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the human

services department be requested to submit an amendment to the

state medicaid plan to the federal centers for medicare and

medicaid services no later than July 1, 2008 to provide a

continuum of rehabilitative services to people with substance

abuse problems. The continuum of rehabilitative services

outlined in the amendment shall be no less than comparable to

the continuum of services provided to people with mental

health diagnoses; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this memorial be

transmitted to the human services department.