Image Credit:  Sandstone Care

Substance Use: 
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Olmstead & Parity/Addiction equity


Val's Take
  • ​We'll include resources from both Title II of the ADA & the Mental Health Parity & Addiction Equity Act of 2008
  • The bottom line:  once people are off whatever dangerous substance --- the ADA does protect them.   BUT as long as they are using it doesn't protect them.  
  • ​That is one of many reasons why we needed the Federal Mental Health Parity & Addiction Equity Act of 2008.
 
  • We're NOT going to have real Criminal Justice Reform or for that matter Brain Injury Reform or Mental Health Reform or Developmental Disability Reform if we can't do a better job of addressing Substance Use.
  • ​Not so ironically, Substance Use Problems also seem to be connected to the Immune System just as many of these Cognitive Problems are as well. (we've posted below our Draft Report on Innate & Adaptive Immunity that does include Substance Problems)​
45 CFR § 146.136 -
Parity in mental health and substance use disorder benefits.

(2) General parity requirement -


(i) General rule. A group health plan (or health insurance coverage offered by an issuer in connection with a group health plan) that provides both medical/surgical benefits and mental health or substance use disorder benefits may not apply any financial requirement or treatment limitation to mental health or substance use disorder benefits in any classification that is more restrictive than the predominant financial requirement or treatment limitation of that type applied to substantially all medical/surgical benefits in the same classification.

Whether a financial requirement or treatment limitation is a predominant financial requirement or treatment limitation that applies to substantially all medical/surgical benefits in a classification is determined separately for each type of financial requirement or treatment limitation.

The application of the rules of this paragraph (c)(2) to financial requirements and quantitative treatment limitations is addressed in paragraph (c)(3) of this section; the application of the rules of this paragraph (c)(2) to nonquantitative treatment limitations is addressed in paragraph (c)(4) of this section.
28 CFR § 35.131 -
llegal use of drugs.

§ 35.131 Illegal use of drugs.

(a) General.

(1) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, this part does not prohibit discrimination against an individual based on that individual's current illegal use of drugs.

(2) A public entity shall not discriminate on the basis of illegal use of drugs against an individual who is not engaging in current illegal use of drugs and who -

(i) Has successfully completed a supervised drug rehabilitation program or has otherwise been rehabilitated successfully;

(ii) Is participating in a supervised rehabilitation program; or

(iii) Is erroneously regarded as engaging in such use.

(b) Health and drug rehabilitation services.

(1) A public entity shall not deny health services, or services provided in connection with drug rehabilitation, to an individual on the basis of that individual's current illegal use of drugs, if the individual is otherwise entitled to such services.

(2) A drug rehabilitation or treatment program may deny participation to individuals who engage in illegal use of drugs while they are in the program.

(c) Drug testing.

(1) This part does not prohibit a public entity from adopting or administering reasonable policies or procedures, including but not limited to drug testing, designed to ensure that an individual who formerly engaged in the illegal use of drugs is not now engaging in current illegal use of drugs.

(2) Nothing in paragraph (c) of this section shall be construed to encourage, prohibit, restrict, or authorize the conduct of testing for the illegal use of drugs.
​DRAFT:  Innate & Adaptive Immunity in Cognitive Disorders