More Addiction Funding Is Coming: Let’s Spend It Wisely
After a year of crippling cutbacks, drug treatment providers that were forced to curtail services during the pandemic are looking forward to a potential funding windfall that may allow them to restart programs and even expand treatment. New funding sources include settlement money from opioid litigation, opioid taxes, funds that were allocated as part of the American Rescue Plan, and President Biden’s 2022 budget proposal that includes a doubling of the Block Grant to the states. An exact figure is uncertain—opioid settlement talks and trials are ongoing, and the White House budget is, at this point, mostly a wish list—although preliminary estimates suggest that states such as New York stand to gain as much as $300 million from government sources alone through 2025.
This is welcome news, as drug overdose fatalities last year surged to a record 90,000 nationwide. Yet, given the magnitude of the problem and the lack of funding increases over the past decades, we’re still treading water in terms of adequate resources to address the crisis. What’s more, part of the new funding stream would consist of one-time-only payouts, such as last week’s settlement of the Johnson & Johnson opioid case that will give $230 million to New York State, and an earlier deal with the consulting firm McKinsey for $573 million to 47 states.
This means that the states, and in turn, providers, cannot rely on a guaranteed flow of money to develop long-term residential programs and workforce development initiatives. With our streets flooded with deadly and dangerous drugs, and more and more addicted individuals unable to obtain treatment, what we really need is a generational shift in how we think about securing sufficient and steady funding to meet the escalating challenges of the addiction crisis.
Meanwhile, let’s make the best use of the money that’s (hopefully) in the pipeline, preferably for the following initiatives:
Upgrade the Infrastructure of Treatment
Fund expansion of facilities for long-term drug treatment for those struggling with substance use, and increase the technological capabilities that support telehealth practices that proved valuable during the pandemic lockdown.
Support Development of the Addiction Workforce
To meet the demand for more qualified, licensed professionals in addiction treatment, boost funding for education, training, recruitment and compensation, and encourage individuals to choose social work and counseling, with such incentives as paying off any remaining student debt for those who enter—and stay—in the field.
Launch a Criminal Justice Initiative
Incarcerated individuals comprise the single largest cohort of opioid addicts, yet prisons and jails are woefully lacking in treatment services. We must engage this population with comprehensive on-site as well as post-release services, including long-term treatment, medication-assisted treatment (MAT), and training for peer-based counselors.
Increase Metrics, Data Gathering and Media Outreach
Establish a robust system to gather, monitor, assess and disseminate data about the opioid epidemic in order to better understand the extent of the crisis, the efficacy of solutions, and to build public awareness of this “forgotten epidemic.”
There is, of course, so much more that needs to be done. Ideally, President Biden will make good by early next year on his promise to allocate $125 billion over the next decade as part of an all-out effort to stop the opioid epidemic. But until then, making better use of the resources already available would be a promising start.
