President Biden gave his first “State of the Union” address Tuesday March 1 in which he prominently addressed the issues we at BVG most passionately endorse.
President Biden mentioned the opiate crisis, largely driven by the over prescribing of narcotics by physicians due to their poor understanding of pain causation, evaluation, and proper management. Our foundation is supporting the training of new doctors in these fields such that, other than for treatment of very short term pain, one day opiate prescriptions for the treatment of longer term pain will be a thing of the past.
He also acknowledged those who suffer addiction needlessly in isolation; that they should be shown the door to a recovery enjoyed by 22 million Americans, and given the tools and encouragement to get there.
The president also addressed mental illness, and that along with addiction these diseases should finally be recognized as such and treated by insurance companies with parity on a scale the same as with physical ailments; because the diseases of mental illness and addiction are just as debilitating and fatal as are physical diseases such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes. So let’s finally start treating our fellow citizens suffering these diseases with the same insurance support and respect, crushing the stigma we all hold to a greater or lesser degree.
Finally, President Biden made a plug for our favored group, our beloved brave Veterans of Valor. We agree wholeheartedly our Vets are the “Backbone” of our society, and should finally be regarded and treated as such! Please help us get there!
You can see the segment of the President’s address below:
