The Affordable Care Act may soon force Washington State alcohol and drug treatment centers to close, according to the head of a Seatte recovery center.
Under Obamacare, addiction centers will no longer receive funding from the state to make up financial shortfalls. Instead, the centers will depend on federal funding.
Unfortunately, federal dollars will not be enough to meet the needs, according to Seattle’s KING-TV. For example, Recovery Centers of King County has already spent $21,000 of its reserve money this year to make up the difference amid what the CEO Pat Knox called “a crisis.”
“I was horrified and instantly terrified,” she said. “How are we going to survive this year?”
Other centers have said that unless the funding comes through, they will likely have to close the doors and throw out recovering addicts, who could end up in emergency rooms or jail.
Treatment centers are hoping the state legislature acts within the next two weeks to keep them open. The centers had expected a drop in funding, but the magnitude of the shortfall has prompted a call for state lawmakers to pass a budget fix before the session wraps up.
“No one seems to care at [Department of Social and Health Services] and the legislature doesn’t know that this is happening,” said Knox.