Trump’s Opioid Commission Releases Report; Funding A Common Theme
"The Commission urges
This report comes about a week after Trump declared the epidemic a public health emergency, falling short of calling it a national emergency that would have allowed for more significant funding to be diverted to combat the issue that has killed thousands in
A member of the commission, former
"If these were any other ... illness, we would call this for what it is and that's a public health crisis,"
"Patients and families who have lost loves ones to the opioid epidemic need less talk and more action from the federal government," Blumenthal said. "While the Commission's report includes important measures to curb the crisis -- such as expanding access to naloxone and supporting prescription drug monitoring programs -- the glaring absence of any recommendation of robust, new funding is a punch in the gut for the countless individuals and families struggling with opioid addiction."
Blumenthal urged his fellow members of
"Strong, long-term funding--not just paltry rhetoric--is needed now more than ever," Blumenthal said.
The commission acknowledged issues within the current system of federal funding, largely done through block grants to states.
"It is clear that each federal agency has goals related to reducing drug use and misuse and provides funding for such activities," the commission wrote. "However, from the vantage points of states, this funding is not well coordinated, and applying for funding from the many different agencies, is a tremendous administrative burden for states."
The commissions recommendations were varied and included increasing access to the life-saving overdose drug naloxone and putting more funding into medication-assisted treatment, an evidence based approach to recovery.
"Today's recommendations fail to address comprehensive addiction treatment. The country needs a national standard of care for addiction treatment programs," Mendell said in a statement.
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