When Rehab Might Help An Addict — But Insurance Won't Cover It [NPR.org]

The latest numbers show that deaths from heroin-related overdose more than tripled nationally between 2002 and 2013. Opiate addiction touches every demographic: white, black, Hispanic, rural, suburban and urban.

Proposed solutions nationally include more government funding for treatment, tougher penalties for dealers, and proactive interventions to stop people before they start.

Now, a couple of parents who lost their son to a heroin overdose are pointing out that drug addiction doesn't tend to be treated like a disease in the United States — which means that when drug users want to get treatment, health insurance coverage often comes up short.

And until the prevailing thinking changes, these parents say, progress will only be made on the edges.

[For more of this story, written by Ben Allen, go to http://www.npr.org/sections/he...urance-wont-cover-it]