Over 100,000 uninsured residents of Virginia may receive treatment for addiction in 2014

Socialism is back in full force under the evil-doer President Obama, and this time it’s aimed at Virginians with drug and alcohol addictions. Once the Affordable Care Act takes effect, according to a recent report, over 100,000 uninsured residents of Virginia with drug and alcohol addictions will be covered.

The health care reform legislation pushed by President Obama will go into effect in 2014.

According to the Associated Press, close to 9% of Virginians need treatment for alcohol and drug abuse and only 65,000 of those 559,000 Virginians who need treatment are currently receiving it.

If Virginia chooses to widen the nets of Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act would start to cover 172,490 addicts, according to an estimate given by the Associated Press.

And, the Associated Press ominously points out, close to 93% of the 957 beds at Virginia treatment centers are currently occupied.

To the libertarian and a good deal of conservatives, this report is yet another example of how far America has come on the path of the welfare state. And in this case, I would absolutely have to agree.

But before we go throwing the baby out with the bathwater, let’s see if we can agree on a few important reasons why expanding insurance coverage for drug and alcohol addictions is a worthwhile idea.

First, everyone deserves a second chance at living a self-fulfilling life. All of us have had second chances in life, even if we won’t admit it (I’m thinking about you conservatives and libertarians, those who apparently have never been lent a helping hand). For individuals born into disadvantageous circumstances, it’s not always as easy as saying, “pick yourself up by your bootstraps.”

Secondly, while those on the right like to pretend that expanding Medicaid for individuals with drug and alcohol addictions is a big financial compact, relatively speaking it will no doubt be a drop in Virginia’s and America’s financial bucket. So why concern ourselves with shooting down an idea with good intentions and a relatively small budget at this time? If the expansion proves to be a failure some years down the road, then we can seriously discuss rolling back Medicaid for this group of individuals.

Lending a helping hand does not inherently lead to personal reliance. On the contrary, lending a helping hand could turn someone’s life around for the better, for the rest of their lives.