Christie: Insurance Companies Should Pay for Drug Like They Pay for Cancer Treatment

‘They pay for cancer treatment and should pay for this treatment as well’

BARNICLE: “You know, speaking of New Hampshire you a — video went viral last week of you talking about the problems of addiction. You started with your mother reference in her inability to kick cigarettes and then you mentioned a friend of yours who died [indecipherable] whatever. It’s a huge issue, not only there, not only in New Hampshire, but throughout the country. But it seems that too many candidates, especially on the Republican side of the aisle, they haven’t talked about it as eloquently and as humanely, as you have talked about it. But you have to pay for treatment facilities. How do you paying for treatment facilities?”
CHRISTIE: “Well we’re going to do a few things. First, we’re lowering our correction budget, because we’re not jelling as many of these folks and we’re taking that money and moving it toward our human services budget. That’s one thing you can do. It’s $49,000 a year to incarcerate someone in New Jersey, Mike, inpatient drug treatment. So, we can do this in a way that doesn’t make government grow larger and we’re also going to have to get tougher on insurance companies in terms of paying for this as well. Because, this is a disease. They pay for cancer treatment, they should pay for this treatment as well.”

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