Massachusetts Receives $ 50 Million for Opioid Treatment



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The US Department of Health and Human Services announced Wednesday that Massachusetts would receive more than $ 50 million in federal funding for treatment of opioid-related disorders in the state.

The funding includes nearly $ 36 million from the Addiction and Mental Health Services Administration to increase access to drug treatments for opioid-related disorders in Canada. Using three drugs approved for this purpose by the Food and Drug Administration.

Drug-assisted treatment involves the use of drugs in combination with counseling and behavioral therapies for the treatment of substance use disorders.

FDA-approved drugs for the treatment of opioid dependence are buprenorphine, methadone and naltrexone. According to the FDA, all three proved to be safe and effective in combination with counseling and psychosocial support.

Funding also includes $ 14,486,462 from the Administration of Health Services and Resources to 48 community health centers and / or Massachusetts-based academic institutions and rural organizations funded by the ASRS to expand access to integrated services

The amount of $ 50,366,147 allocated to the Commonwealth is part of a total of $ 1 billion granted by the federal government to help states deal with the current crisis of opioid addiction in the country.

SAMHSA has awarded more than $ 930 million in opioid response grants as part of the funding to support a comprehensive response to the opioid epidemic and expand access to health-related support services. treatment and recovery.

States received formula-based funding, with a 15% reserve for the 10 states with the highest mortality rate from drug overdose deaths.

In addition, SAMHSA has also provided approximately $ 90 million to other state and community-based programs to expand access to drug-assisted treatment, increase the distribution and use of overdose reversal drugs and increase workforce development activities.

The drug overdoses killed 63,632 Americans in 2016, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which reported that nearly two-thirds of these deaths involved an opioid-controlled or illicit.

Overdose mortality rates involving synthetic opioids increased in 21 states, with 10 states doubling their rates from 2015 to 2016, according to the CDC, with New Hampshire, West Virginia and Massachusetts recording the highest death rates.

"Addressing the opioid crisis with all possible resources and the best science at our disposal is a priority for President Trump and everyone at HHS," said Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar. announcing the financing of these states.

"The additional funding of more than $ 1 billion we provided this week will support the progress made in the fight against this epidemic, through the empowerment of communities and families in the first place. line."

SAMHSA unveiled new data last week, the national survey on drug use and health, which found that the number of Americans who started using heroin declined by about half between 2016 and 2017.

The number of opioids consumed by Americans fell for the second consecutive year and from January 2017 to August 2018, the amount of opioids prescribed in America decreased by 21%.

He also reported that the number of prescriptions filled for naloxone had increased by 264%, while the number of prescriptions for buprenorphine, a form of drug-assisted treatment for opioid overdoses , had increased by 16%.

Other government initiatives cited in the Opioid Epidemic Awareness Week and Heroin Awareness Week include:

    • The CDC is providing $ 194 million to increase support to states, territories and tribal entities working to prevent overdoses, deaths and other opioid-related consequences.

    • The FDA has expanded its training requirements to the appropriate prescription of high-risk drugs.

    • The Office of the Assistant Secretary of Health has alerted health care providers to how they can expand access to drug-assisted treatment through telemedicine.

    • HRSA launched the Challenge Against Opioid Use Disorders in Pregnant Women and Moms, which will reward technological innovations aimed at improving access to treatment, rehabilitation and support services and the families, especially in rural and geographically isolated areas.

    • The Health and Quality Research Agency has launched a new microsite to inform researchers and has released new data on opioids and American seniors.

    • The statement also said that surgeon general Jerome Adams will launch a "spotlight" this week on the opioid crisis.

    • The National Institutes of Health (NIH) will launch a major funding opportunity for communities most affected by the epidemic to test a comprehensive strategy supported by the NIH and other federal government agencies.

    • SAMHSA will publish new information that can be used to inform pregnant women and their families about neonatal abstinence syndrome.
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