Feds Plan to Spend $4.6 Billion To Fight Opioids, But Is It Enough?

What’s the story?

Included in the $1.6 trillion dollar omnibus spending bill passed by Congress and signed by the president last week was a record $4.6 billion to fight the opioid epidemic in fiscal year 2018. Despite that figure being approximately three times what the federal government is currently spending, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle fear it won’t be enough.

Former congressman Patrick J. Kennedy (D-RI), who served on President Trump’s opioid commission last year, told the Washington Post that Congress must devote more resources to the fight:

"We still have lacked the insight that this is a crisis, a cataclysmic crisis."

The opioid crisis killed more than 42,000 Americans in 2016. In contrast, the AIDS epidemic, which hasn’t killed those numbers annually since 1995, receives $7 billion in annual funding.

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R), who also served on the president’s opioid commission, agreed with Kennedy, that Congress must devote more resources to fund all of the commission’s recommendations. A representative made this statement to the Post:

"Governor Baker encourages members of Congress to work together on a plan forward to fully fund the bipartisan recommendations."

The funding included in the omnibus bill, inadequate or not, received wide, bipartisan support.

What do you think?

Is the federal government committing enough resources to the opioid crisis? Should they plan to commit more funds for FY2019? How should they focus their efforts through the funding currently approved?

Tell us in the comments what you think, then use the Take Action button to tell your reps!

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— Asha Sanaker

(Photo Credit: Marco Verch via Flickr / Creative Commons)