OASIS Community Clinic Delivers 4000 Petitions To Save Drug Medi-Cal Programs

Approximately 1 out of every 8 Californians is living with addiction to drugs or alcohol and rates are on the rise, especially among young people. Although stigmatized as a moral issue, newer medical imaging techniques demonstrate that addiction is a chronic illness characterized by neurochemical changes in the brain. For many, highly effective medical treatments including methadone and buprenorphine are the key to maintaining prolonged abstinence, much as medications for asthma, high blood pressure, and diabetes are prescribed chronically to maintain health.

In addition, drug treatment is highly cost effective: studies show that for every dollar spent on treatment, up to $7 is saved in reduced criminal activity, incarceration, and spread of infectious diseases like HIV and hepatitis C. “Cutting Drug Medi-Cal benefits will eliminate access to care for many people currently engaged or needing drug treatment” said Dr. Diana Sylvestre, Executive Director of the OASIS Clinic. “It is incredibly short sighted and costly while making our neighborhoods less safe”

Today's action by the OASIS Clinic in Sacramento was in conjunction with a budget cuts demonstration at the the state capitol called by the Health and Human Services Budget Network.