Obama To Announce New Measure To Combat Drug Abuse Epidemic

March 29--PRINCETON -- President Obama is scheduled today to announce millions of federal dollars aimed at helping combat the nation's opioid drug addiction epidemic.

The president is joining individuals in recovery, family members, medical professionals, law enforcement officials and other leaders today at the National Rx Drug Abuse and Heroin Summit in Atlanta, Ga., according to a press release issued Monday. The annual summit is organized by Operation UNITE, which was launched by U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers R-Ky.

As part of today's event, the president is announcing additional public and private sector actions to escalate the fight against the prescription opioid abuse and heroin epidemic, which is claiming the lives of tens of thousands of Americans each year.

President Obama 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, according to federal officials. 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.

Greg Puckett, executive director of Community Connections, Inc. in Mercer County, said his organization has heard about President Obama's proposals. The proposals are a plus for regions fighting a prescription drug abuse epidemic.

"Especially for areas like southern Appalachia, that's refreshing news from the office of the president as we deal with the opioid epidemic," Puckett said. "We have worked with our state and federal leaders on this issue, especially over the last couple of years. Much of (proposals) stem from conversations we have held personally with the drug czar, Director Michael Botticelli."

Botticelli has visited Mercer County, McDowell County, and other parts of southern West Virginia, so he has witnessed "the blight of drug problems firsthand," Puckett said. "These conversations have continued since the president's visit in September (2015.)"

Travis Helmandollar, the assistant director of Community Connections, is currently attending the Prescription Drug Abuse Conference in Atlanta, Ga., Puckett stated.

"It's good news," Puckett said of the president's proposals. "I think it's certainly, finally getting to the point where people are recognizing how the bad the drug epidemic is in our community."

As part of today's event, President Obama is scheduled to 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, according to the press release. 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, federal officials said.

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 training 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: President Obama 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 Oct. 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. Mercer County recently received a $100,000 federal grant to help provide the medication to local first responders.

--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 long-standing ban on these programs and allows communities with a demonstrated need to use federal funds for the operational components of syringe services programs.

--New Private Sector Commitments to Address the Epidemic.

In connection with today's federal announcements, more than 60 medical schools are announcing that, beginning in fall 2016, they will require their students to take some form of prescriber education, in line with the newly released Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain, in order to graduate. In West Virginia and Virginia, the participating institutions include: Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine; West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine; and West Virginia University School of Medicine

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