Addiction treatment centers' progress in preparing for health care reform

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) is expected to significantly alter addiction treatment service delivery. Researchers designed the Health Reform Readiness Index (HRRI) for addiction treatment organizations to assess their readiness for the PPACA. Four-hundred twenty-seven organizations completed the HRRI throughout a 3-year period, using a four-point scale to rank their readiness on 13 conditions. HRRI results completed during two different time periods (between 10/1/2010-6/30/2011 and 9/1/2011-9/30/2012) were analyzed and compared. Most respondents self-assessed as being in the early stages of preparation for 9 of the 13 conditions. Survey results showed that organizations with annual budgets < $5 million (n=295) were less likely to be prepared for the PPACA than organizations with annual budgets > $5 million (n=132). The HRRI results suggest that the addiction field, and in particular smaller organizations, is not preparing adequately for health care reform; organizations that are making preparations are making only modest gains.