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ADDICTION A DISEASE TO CONFRONT

Thanks for the great editorial on July 6, "Sound minds -- Mental health gains focus in N.C."

When it comes to health insurance benefits for individuals suffering from mental illness and addictions, it's been a long and arduous fight to reverse discriminatory practices.  Only slowly has society come to accept these conditions as medical disorders involving malfunction of the brain in the same way as diabetes involves malfunction of the pancreas.  It is unfortunate that addictive disorders were excluded from coverage by the Legislature.

We know now that individuals are predisposed to addiction due largely to the genes they inherit and that the development of the disorder is due to changes in the brain.  Numerous studies have shown that the added costs for insurance coverage are minimal.

We have little to lose and everything to gain by promoting treatment.  Treatment results in saved lives and huge savings in other medical and social expenses.  Hopefully we will not have to wait another 15 years to see an end to discriminatory health insurance based on the patient's diagnosis.

DAVID AMES

Greenville