Vermont Business Magazine Today, President Obama joined individuals in recovery, family members, medical professionals, law enforcement officials and other leaders at the National Rx Drug Abuse and Heroin Summit in Atlanta, Georgia. As part of today’s event, the president announced additional public and private sector actions to escalate the fight against prescription opioid abuse and the heroin epidemic, which is claiming the lives of tens of thousands of Americans each year. The annual summit is organized by Operation UNITE, which was launched by Congressman Hal Rogers (R-KY).
The president has made clear that addressing this epidemic is a priority for his Administration, and today’s actions represent further steps to expand access to treatment, prevent overdose deaths and increase community prevention strategies. These actions build on the president’s proposal for $1.1 billion in new funding to help every American with an opioid use disorder who wants treatment get the help they need.
Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy said in a followup statement: “Communities in Vermont and across the country are struggling with addiction to opioids, a public health crisis that now claims more than 80 lives each day. Vermont has pursued an innovative all-hands-on-deck approach, but all states struggle to marshal the needed resources to get ahead of addiction. That is why I have worked to secure additional federal support for Medication-Assisted Treatment and for state anti-heroin drug task forces. I’m gratified that Vermont is an early beneficiary of this added support. I am also proud to cosponsor and to help usher through the Senate last month the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA), which authorizes added support for key prevention, treatment and recovery programs. It is regrettable and short-sighted that Republicans last month voted down emergency supplemental funding to support CARA and other anti-opioid efforts. If Congress is serious about ending addiction, it must put real funding behind such critically needed programs.
“The steps that President Obama announced today in Atlanta show his continued commitment to putting real resources behind a comprehensive response. Offering more than just rhetoric, the President is expanding access to buprenorphine treatment and naloxone, supporting an anti-heroin drug task force grant program that I helped create, and promoting prevention in hard-hit rural communities. The president clearly takes this challenge seriously. Congress must do the same.”
Governor Peter Shumlin also issued a statement. The governor singled out one of the president’s proposals to increase the current patient limit for qualified physicians who prescribe recovery drugs, saying it could help Vermont further reduce waiting lists for treatment statewide.
“In the past months, President Obama has used his voice and the power of his office to address the opiate and heroin addiction crisis affecting this country. To have the President standing up, urging a more compassionate and rational approach to this issue makes a huge difference and gives states like Vermont valuable resources to continue our efforts.
“I was especially pleased to learn that the president is proposing to increase from 100 to 200 the current patient limit for those physicians who prescribe recovery drugs such as buprenorphine. Despite expanding the number of Vermonters in treatment by 65 percent since 2014, Vermont still has treatment waiting lists as more people become addicted. The president’s actions on this front mean that qualified physicians will now be able to treat more patients. I am hopeful that will have the effect of reducing waiting lists across the state.”
As part of today’s event, the president will announce the following Administration actions:
· Expanding Access to Treatment:
- The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is issuing a proposed rule to increase the current patient limit for qualified physicians who prescribe buprenorphine to treat opioid use disorders from 100 to 200 patients with the goal of expanding access to this evidence-based treatment while preventing diversion. The proposed rule aims to increase access to medication-assisted treatment and behavioral health supports for tens of thousands of people with opioid use disorders.
- HHS released $94 million in new funding to 271 Community Health Centers across the country earlier this month to increase substance use disorder treatment services, with a specific focus on expanding medication-assisted treatment of opioid use disorders in underserved communities. This funding is expected to help health centers treat nearly 124,000 new patients with substance use disorders.
- The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is releasing a new $11 million funding opportunity for up to 11 States to expand their medication-assisted treatment services. SAMHSA also is distributing 10,000 pocket guides for clinicians that include a checklist for prescribing medication for opioid use disorder treatment and integrating non-pharmacologic therapies into treatment. SAMHSA also will coordinate trainings to increase the number of doctors qualified to prescribe buprenorphine, which will be held in targeted States in greatest need.
· Establishing a Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Parity Task Force: The President is signing a Memorandum today directing the creation of an interagency Task Force, to be chaired by the Domestic Policy Council, to advance access to mental health and substance use disorder treatment; promote compliance with best practices for mental health and substance use disorder parity implementation; and develop additional agency guidance as needed. Federal parity protections are intended to ensure that health plans’ coverage of mental health and substance use disorder benefits is comparable to their coverage of medical and surgical benefits. The Task Force will work quickly, with an October 31 deadline, across Federal Departments and with diverse stakeholders to ensure implementation of these important parity protections.
· Implementing Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Parity in Medicaid: HHS is finalizing a rule to strengthen access to mental health and substance use services for people enrolled in Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) plans by requiring that these benefits be offered at parity, meaning that they be comparable to medical and surgical benefits. These protections are expected to benefit more than 23 million people in Medicaid and CHIP.
· Preventing Opioid Overdose Deaths: SAMHSA is releasing a new $11 million funding opportunity to States to purchase and distribute the opioid overdose reversal drug, naloxone, and to train first responders and others on its use along with other overdose prevention strategies.
· Expanding Public Health-Public Safety Partnerships to Combat the Spread of Heroin: The Office of National Drug Control Policy is expanding its heroin initiative among regional High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTAs) by adding Ohio and Michigan to the effort. These States will join the Appalachia, New England, Philadelphia/Camden, New York/New Jersey, and Washington/Baltimore HIDTAs in accelerating local partnerships between law enforcement and their counterparts in public health to combat heroin use and overdose.
· Investing in Community Policing to Address Heroin: The Department of Justice’s COPS program is announcing a $7 million funding opportunity called the COPS Anti-Heroin Task Force Program to advance public safety and to investigate the distribution of heroin, unlawful distribution of prescription opioids and unlawful heroin and prescription opioid traffickers. These grants will provide funds directly to law enforcement agencies in States with high rates of primary treatment admissions for heroin and other opioids.
· Tackling Substance Use Disorders in Rural Communities: On Monday, the Department of Agriculture announced that its $1.4 million Rural Health and Safety Education Grant Program to enhance the quality of life in rural areas through health and safety education projects has been expanded to include a focus on addressing the critical challenges related to substance use disorders in rural communities across the country.
· Implementing Syringe Services Programs: HHS is issuing guidance for HHS-funded programs regarding the use of Federal funds to implement or expand syringe services programs for people who inject drugs. Syringe services programs are an effective component of a comprehensive approach to preventing HIV and viral hepatitis among people who inject drugs. The bipartisan budget agreement signed by the President last year revised a longstanding ban on these programs and allows communities with a demonstrated need to use Federal funds for the operational components of syringe services programs.