WASHINGTON – Ohio stands to share a large portion of $53 million the Obama administration says it will distribute to 44 states in an effort to curb opioid abuse.
The funding will focus on reducing over-prescribing of pain killers, increasing access to treatment and making sure the antidote naloxone is widely available, Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell said.
The administration is also calling on Congress to provide $1.1 billion in new money, saying legislation recently signed into law didn’t do enough to expand treatment. That bill authorized $181 million in new spending.
There were a record 3,050 drug overdose deaths in Ohio last year, fueled by a dramatic rise in the number of overdoses linked to the use of fentanyl (see above).
The state stands to share up to $9 million in Strategic Prevention Framework Partnerships for Prescription Drugs Grants provided to 21 states and four Native American tribes to strengthen drug misuse prevention efforts by raising awareness about the dangers of sharing medications and working to address the risks of overprescribing, Burwell said.
Up to $11.5 million is being sent to 14 state, including Ohio, as part of the Prescription Drug Overdose: Prevention for States program, which supports improved toxicology and drug screening.
The Enhanced State Surveillance of Opioid-Involved Morbidity and Mortality is awarding almost $4.3 million to Ohio and 11 other states to better track fatal and nonfatal opioid-involved overdoses.
The administration says, under its budget proposal yet to be approved by Congress, states would be eligible for up to $920 million over two years to expand access to treatment.