When Virginia Holleman’s son entered a treatment program, she poured over her insurance benefits to be sure substance use disorder was covered. But two days after he was admitted to the treatment facility, the insurance company refused to pay.

“I was stuck in the middle of an untenable catch-22 between the treatment facility and the insurance company, while my son was fighting for his life and my family was in crisis.”

Unfortunately, Virginia’s story is not uncommon. When insurance companies determine that care is no longer medically necessary and deny ongoing payment, patients have to make difficult financial decisions or are forced to stop in the middle of treatment.

People and families struggling with substance use and addiction encounter a variety of systemic challenges throughout their journey, which is why we created a new section of our website called "Help Us Change the Story of Addiction." The site features personal stories like Virginia’s that bring these structural barriers to life. Each story highlighted will offer visitors an opportunity to advocate for specific policy change by signing an action alert or by sharing similar stories from their own journey.

Let’s start re-writing the story of addiction today.