Posted: Sunday, May 13, 2012 12:45 am
By WALLACE McKELVEY, Staff Writer
Press of Atlantic City
Jennifer Hansen cycled in and out of rehab two decades ago to treat a $300-a-day heroin addiction before detoxing at Seabrook House in Bridgeton.
Seabrook, at the time, was one of the few facilities of its kind in the region. Insurance covered 30 days of Hansen’s treatment there, before her parents paid for a California clinic to help the 24-year-old work toward sobriety.
Hansen, now 40, says things have changed since then, but not necessarily for the better. Today, she said, most patients leave primary treatment after about a week, barely enough time to detox from the substance they were abusing.
“It’s really hard to access treatment,” said Hansen, who founded the Galloway sober living facility Hansen House in 2003. “Especially if you’re out there on drugs and you don’t have anyone in your corner — many of them die.”
Recovering addicts have more treatment options today, but addiction experts say deficient insurance coverage means some patients will never recover. Moreover, the state doesn’t release performance data, so patients have limited information with which to choose a treatment facility.
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