A Really Big Failure So Far
Last October, President Trump declared the opioid epidemic a national health crisis, making claims about the governments plans to institute “really tough, really big, really great advertising” to convince people to stop using the opioids. However, this decree unleashed no federal funding or resources for combating the crisis. And since October, the administration has done little to lift the burden of the epidemic from the country. It is puzzling as to why the administration has refrained from allocating resources necessary for fighting the epidemic because it is not controversial. Concern for the issue stretches across party lines and large swaths of Trump's base are affected by it. But clearly, the administration is reluctant to take it head on.
Life expectancy in the United States declined for the second straight year in 2017, the the first time since 1960. The trends are getting worse too. 650,000 people are projected to die from pioid addiction over the next ten years. The Trump Administration hasn't done nothing. They launched a commission to study the crisis but only adopted a few of the many proposals submitted. They pulled back regulation that prevented treatment facilities from being reimbursed by Medicaid to create more treatment beds across the country and the Department of Justice has continued to prosecute pill mills and doctors responsible for over prescription. Also, Trump implemented the INTERDICT Act, a policy many experts are skeptical of, which provides border security with better ways of detecting fentanyl.
All of these policies indicate that Trump has given thought to the opioid epidemic, but none of them address the massive amount of federal resources that is required for creating a serious dent in it. For each mention of it in a speech or small policy change geared towards combating the crisis, there are other actions that completely contradict any movements towards grappling with it. For example, Trump has yet to appoint heads of the Office of National Drug Control Policy and the Drug Enforcement Agency, and earlier in the year the administration attempted to decrease the budget of the ONDCP by 95%. Furthermore, the Trump administration has repeatedly tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act which has contributed greatly to the expansion of treatment across the country. As of 2016, only 10% of American's suffering from substance abuse received specialized treatment. This specific problem of the deserves its own blog post but to touch on the extent of it, only 2.7% of addiction facilities offer all three types of opioid treatment (methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone).
The White Housed recently released its proposed budget for 2019 which includes 13 billion dollars to go towards Human Health Services strategy: "improved access to prevention, treatment, and recovery services; more availability and distribution of overdose-reversing drugs (like naloxone); better public health data and reporting; more research on pain and addiction; and better practices for pain management." This money has the potential to do a lot of good in expanding access to treatment but the budget does not include language that allocates the money to specific areas. The lack of specificity is a small issue but the budget would also end Medicaid expansion and make cuts to Medicaid funding. This alone would offset all benefits from the 13 billion dollar increase in federal funding and create a net decrease in overall federal spending on the opioid crisis.
The effects of this proposal could prove catastrophic. Medicaid has funded 25% of public and private treatment for the opioids. While 13 billion dollars might allow more treatment facilities to be opened across the country, an end to Medicaid would prevent people from being able to afford treatment and take away the flow of cash that keeps treatment facilities across the country operational.
Here is a map of the drug overdoses across the U.S.
Life expectancy in the United States declined for the second straight year in 2017, the the first time since 1960. The trends are getting worse too. 650,000 people are projected to die from pioid addiction over the next ten years. The Trump Administration hasn't done nothing. They launched a commission to study the crisis but only adopted a few of the many proposals submitted. They pulled back regulation that prevented treatment facilities from being reimbursed by Medicaid to create more treatment beds across the country and the Department of Justice has continued to prosecute pill mills and doctors responsible for over prescription. Also, Trump implemented the INTERDICT Act, a policy many experts are skeptical of, which provides border security with better ways of detecting fentanyl.
All of these policies indicate that Trump has given thought to the opioid epidemic, but none of them address the massive amount of federal resources that is required for creating a serious dent in it. For each mention of it in a speech or small policy change geared towards combating the crisis, there are other actions that completely contradict any movements towards grappling with it. For example, Trump has yet to appoint heads of the Office of National Drug Control Policy and the Drug Enforcement Agency, and earlier in the year the administration attempted to decrease the budget of the ONDCP by 95%. Furthermore, the Trump administration has repeatedly tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act which has contributed greatly to the expansion of treatment across the country. As of 2016, only 10% of American's suffering from substance abuse received specialized treatment. This specific problem of the deserves its own blog post but to touch on the extent of it, only 2.7% of addiction facilities offer all three types of opioid treatment (methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone).
The White Housed recently released its proposed budget for 2019 which includes 13 billion dollars to go towards Human Health Services strategy: "improved access to prevention, treatment, and recovery services; more availability and distribution of overdose-reversing drugs (like naloxone); better public health data and reporting; more research on pain and addiction; and better practices for pain management." This money has the potential to do a lot of good in expanding access to treatment but the budget does not include language that allocates the money to specific areas. The lack of specificity is a small issue but the budget would also end Medicaid expansion and make cuts to Medicaid funding. This alone would offset all benefits from the 13 billion dollar increase in federal funding and create a net decrease in overall federal spending on the opioid crisis.
The effects of this proposal could prove catastrophic. Medicaid has funded 25% of public and private treatment for the opioids. While 13 billion dollars might allow more treatment facilities to be opened across the country, an end to Medicaid would prevent people from being able to afford treatment and take away the flow of cash that keeps treatment facilities across the country operational.
Here is a map of the drug overdoses across the U.S.
Charles, I think that a lot of times people take a biased view of Medicaid and other assistance programs because they think that people are just "taking advantage of the system." However, with the opioid epidemic raging through our country (the map of drug overdoses honestly blew my mind) we obviously have a real problem on our hands and these people need the help. If the government isn't on these people sides, they may feel hopeless and never recover. I think the people struggling in this epidemic deserve all the hope and help that they can get.
ReplyDeleteLike so many of his promises, Trump's promise to deal with the opioid crisis has proven to be an empty one. Earlier this month, he chose to ignore the opinions of medical researchers and professionals, stating that his approach to the opioid crisis would be based more on enforcement than treatment. Because the War on Drugs was such a success.
ReplyDeleteI can’t believe that life expectancy is actually declining in the US! And for the second year in a row! This statistic is tremendously powerful and definitely caught me off guard. I also feel that your point about how both parties have concern for this issue is incredibly important because it begs the question: if this is an issue that all of us agree needs to be resolved, why can’t we actually work towards this?
ReplyDeleteI always found this topic a bit difficult to process, mainly because of one large detail that may not be frequently discussed. While providing additional support and facilities for drug awareness, prevention, and recovery, the people who choose to live a lifestyle governed by their drug abuse need to be willing to make a change by taking advantage of the helpful resources provided to them and others in their position. While I will always advocate for additional help for these individuals, the harsh reality is that for many, they need to first admit to themselves of their drug abuse in order to take the initiative of seeking out assistance and guidance at these recovery facilities. I do hope that our budget will be able to include some specific aid in this epidemic as the number of people involved and paying the price of this issue are increasing to scary statistics.
ReplyDeleteHi Charles! Your post was intriguing. The fact that the life expectancy is decreasing is not only alarming, but also surprising. You would think that life expectancy would be higher with all of the access we have to health care, however, this crisis is killing our people. President Trump's promises have not yet been made, but I am trying to be hopeful for the future. Because this is a bipartisan issue, it should be easier to find a solution. If Congress can work together, then maybe something will change.
ReplyDelete