Pray for the newcomers –
MARCH 29, 2020 – Getting clean is challenging enough in regular times, and the coronavirus has also upended South Florida’s fragile care system for people battling alcohol and substance abuse, putting many more at risk of relapsing and overdosing.
Substance-abuse therapists have traded in couches for platforms such as Skype or Facetime as some South Florida residential rehab centers have stopped accepting new patients for fear they might infect existing clients. Because there’s been a steep drop-off in patient visits, clinics are bracing for private insurance and federal government reimbursements to vanish, forcing layoffs of counselors and staff.
Doctors fear Medicaid patients will run out of their supplies of drugs such as suboxone, which is used to treat opioid addiction, because of strict state requirements that they get drug tested and visit doctors in person.
