Fighting the Opioid Epidemic with Tax Policy: The Establishment of the Substance Abuse Preventative Rehabilitation Trust
30 Pages Posted: 20 Feb 2018
Date Written: February 1, 2018
Abstract
The United States currently faces the lethal and consequential opioid epidemic. Due to the increasing number of citizens succumbing to the epidemic, The United States’ addiction rehabilitation services fail to meet the demand required to combat the deadly epidemic. Not only are the citizens of the United States physically suffering the effects of opioid abuse, but the bystander tax payer inherits the responsibility of funding medical and criminal justice programs resulting from the lack of sufficient rehabilitation services for those struggling with others’ addiction. This article analyzes the current status of rehabilitation services in the United States and promotes the classification of substance abuse as a recognized disability under the Social Security Administration for the purposes of funding a substance abuse preventative rehabilitation trust. The funds apportioned to each individual who applies to the disability program due to substance abuse will finance the trust and will be forwarded directly to the participant’s local rehabilitation facility. The trust will fund preventative treatment for those American citizens suffering addiction which will lead to lessened burdens on tax payers in the forms of health savings and criminal justice costs such as prisons and drug courts. The preventative rehabilitation measures will additionally lead to positive socioeconomic effects in families, schools, and employment areas.
Keywords: opioid, epidemic, tax policy, rehabilitation, substance abuse, addiction, Social Security Administration, prescription drugs
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