SUBMITTED NEWS RELEASE
CARSON CITY — Effective July 1, 2011, the five year strategic plan for Problem Gambling Treatment will begin. The Advisory Committee on Problem Gambling (ACPG) developed and adopted the plan during fiscal year 2011, which includes standards for treatment providers but also sets rates to reimburse providers at uniform levels for services provided. As a result, all of the grant recipients are changing from categorical budgets, to fee-for-service budgets. “The process was a huge undertaking that brought all of the treatment providers to the table,” said Grants Unit Manager, Laurie Olson. “I’m very proud of the ACPG members and the treatment providers who were involved, but more importantly, this creates a more cost-effective and equitable structure for the State of Nevada and we expect to serve more people than under the previous method of doing business.”
The strategic plan was developed with input from problem gambling treatment stakeholders within Nevada, evidenced-based practices from the field at-large, and expert analysis. The guiding principles in the creation of the plan were to respond to changing funding conditions, utilize existing assets, ensure that evidence-based practices drive the system, and promote system efficiency and quality of care.
Nevada is viewed throughout the world as a leader in the casino and gaming sector with regard to regulation, technology, business strategies, and sophistication of its gaming companies. In the same manner, Nevada has sought to develop systems to reduce gambling related harms by addressing problem gambling and developing strategies that encourage responsible gaming. Nevada has one of the highest rates of problem and pathological gambling in the country with an estimated 68,000 adult Nevadans meeting the criteria for pathological gambling. Usually for each problem gambler, many others are affected (e.g., spouse, children).
