Latest news with #substanceUseDisorders
CBS News
21-05-2025
- Health
- CBS News
Colorado Congresswoman Brittany Pettersen says treatment for substance use disorders would take a big hit under Republican budget bill
Treatment for substance use disorders would take hit under budget bill, Colorado Congresswoman says Treatment for substance use disorders would take hit under budget bill, Colorado Congresswoman says Treatment for substance use disorders would take hit under budget bill, Colorado Congresswoman says For Rep. Brittany Pettersen, the debate happening in D.C. over Medicaid isn't political, it's personal. If not for the government health care program, she says, her mom wouldn't be alive. Stacy Pettersen struggled with opioid addition for years, a struggle that became the catalyst for far-reaching legislation by her daughter, including a law that expanded Medicaid to cover in-patient treatment for substance use disorders. Rep. Brittany Pettersen CBS Pettersen says the law has saved lives and money. "When you're denying them care and churning in and out ER, the federal and state government spent over a million keeping her alive in ICU instead of giving her access to the care she needed," Pettersen said. Pettersen, the Democrat who represents Colorado's 7th Congressional District, was working on the bill with stakeholders, including Emergency Room Doctor Don Stader, when her mom overdosed and ended up in the ER. Stader was on duty that night. "It was one of the most surreal moments and patients of my life and it made ... (it) so clear what we are fighting for and what the stakes are," he said. With Stader's help, Pettersen has passed a number of transformative laws to help those like her mom, who is now 8 years in recovery. But she says the Republican budget bill puts all that progress at risk. "My mom is an example of what's possible when we give people the help they need," she said. "All of this is going away with this bill." The bill strips Medicaid funding for in-patient addiction treatment, repeals a law providing Naloxone for rural first responders, creates new work and cost-sharing requirements for recipients, and implements twice yearly eligibility reviews. "It's created to purge people off of actually qualifying for these benefits while paying tens of millions of dollars by increasing bureaucracy," said Pettersen. The Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing, which administers Medicaid, estimated the administrative burden alone would cost up to $57 million. The Congressional Budget Office says more than 100,000 Coloradans could lose their coverage. "This is going to fundamentally shift health care in many communities across the country," said Stader. "We are going to take our health care back a quantum leap for something that is far less effective, far less compassionate and far less efficient than what we have now." Last year, Colorado saw a 35% reduction in opioid deaths. Pettersen worries the downward trend will reverse course. "We had the biggest reduction of overdose deaths, and it's because of this work. It's because of access to Naloxone. It's because of increasing access to treatment. And they're actually taking that option away for states like Colorado," Pettersen said. President Trump wants the House to pass the bill by Memorial Day. He met with GOP hardliners Tuesday. They are refusing to pass the measure without deeper cuts. The bill would cut taxes by $4 trillion and reduce federal spending by $1.6 trillion, including a $700 billion reduction in Medicaid spending. It is expected to raise the national debt by about $3 trillion over the next 10 years.
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
1988 Bemidji grad Marc Baer to lead Hazelden Betty Ford clinical operations
May 10—Marc Baer says growing up in Bemidji prepared him for a career of service, and he will take those experiences into his new job as chief operating officer of the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation. Baer, a 1988 graduate of Bemidji High School, will oversee Hazelden Betty Ford's clinical operations and join the executive leadership team for the nation's largest and oldest nonprofit organization dedicated to substance use disorders, mental health and recovery. "One of the many things I am grateful for is the opportunity I had to participate in and try out many different activities while growing up in Bemidji," Baer said. "That instilled in me a desire to really contribute to and give back to the community in a variety of different ways. That's because of the amazing experiences that I had growing up right there and doing all of the different things I had the chance to do." Those things included sports (swimming, cross country and tennis), band (wind ensemble, jazz, marching and pep bands), the student newspaper, theater, and Key Club. He was also chosen by the American Legion to attend Boys State in St. Paul and Boys Nation in Washington, D.C. He also worked at Bemidji's Dairy Queen as a teenager, about the time the DQ Blizzard was introduced. Baer met his wife, Elizabeth, when they were undergraduate students at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn. Marc earned a degree in psychology, then went on to law school at the University of Minnesota. He was a student attorney in the Hennepin County Attorney's office, working in the mental health division on cases involving people with substance abuse issues. "That was really the first time when I had the opportunity to marry my interest in psychology and law," Baer said. Baer entered private practice in the south metro, where he was able to specialize in representing people in the mental health and chemical dependency commitment process. "I just absolutely loved that part of my work," he said, "You could see the impact of trying to have an immediate effect on helping people who needed significant assistance at a point in their life where they were in a very difficult spot. So I was focused on health and healing, and getting people to the right place where they could meaningfully change their lives." He enjoyed that work so much that after practicing law for several years, "I just really felt like I needed to jump into health care. I love trying new things. I love jumping in and learning." Baer has spent the last 25 years in leadership roles in the health care industry. He most recently served as an officer and corporate vice president of enterprise partnerships at Centene Corporation. Before that, he was an officer at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota working in population health, pharmacy, health and wellness, clinical product innovation and provider operations. He also held leadership roles in the health care division of Target Corporation, where he led its pharmacy managed care network and its clinic and optical divisions, and spent several years at UnitedHealth Group. "For me, coming to Hazelden now, which was a very unexpected opportunity to do this, is like a career serendipity moment," Baer said. "It has brought me to an amazing place that's at the forefront of really trying to change lives. I'm still pinching myself and trying to put my head around how fortunate and honored I am to just even be in this place." Hazelden Betty Ford celebrated its 75th anniversary last year, and in his new role, Baer hopes to help shape the organization's next 75 years. "It is the preeminent provider of care in this space," he said. "It's the oldest and largest nonprofit dedicated to addiction and mental health. It's really considered the gold standard of care in the industry. People may not realize we also have a graduate school, we have a center for research, we have a publishing arm. We are incredibly well-positioned to really make huge impacts in the lives of those who need that help and who are affected by addiction and alcohol and other drugs."
