Washington Alcohol and Drug Treatment programs are in jeopardy as Obamacare threatens to close their doors.
If the legislature doesn't make a budget fix in two weeks, thousands of recovering addicts may not have access to the help they need to remain clean.
Emily Scheving and Dallas Redlin, both recovering from alcohol and heroin addictions, first entered in-patient treatment and are now in out-patient therapy. They attend meetings every week at their local Recovery Center.
"Outpatient [therapy] keeps you accountable and the real work starts when you're out on your own," Redlin told KING-WA.
Obamacare has forced the state to stop giving money to outpatient services for the poor. The federal payments to the outpatient services do not cover the costs.
Outpatient centers now find themselves making tough decisions, including the possibility of closing their doors because of financial woes.
Pat Knox, CEO of Recovery Centers of King County told KING-WA that the financial hardship they are experiencing because of Obamacare is a crisis.
Experts warn that if recovery centers shut down, recovering addicts could wind up in the emergency room, back on the streets, or worse- in jail.
"I think it would be tragic. We would probably have a lot more people in jail, instability all the way around," Scheving predicted.