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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 SENATE 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.