In ringing terms, President Donald Trump today declared the opioid crisis a nationwide public health emergency—a step that won’t bring new dollars to fight a scourge that kills nearly 100 Americans a day but will expand access to medical services in rural areas, among other changes.
“This epidemic is a national health emergency,” Trump said in a speech at the White House, where he bemoaned a crisis he says has spared no segment of American society. “As Americans we cannot allow this to continue.”
Administration officials have made clear that the declaration, which lasts for 90 days and can be renewed, comes with no dedicated dollars. But they said it will allow them to use existing money to better fight the crisis. Officials also said they would urge Congress, during end-of-the year budget negotiations, to add new cash to a public health emergency fund that Congress hasn’t replenished for years.
The Public Health Emergency Fund currently contains just $57,000, according to the Department of Health and Human Services, a negligible amount. Officials would not disclose how much they were seeking, but critics said that wasn’t enough.
“How can you say it’s an emergency if we’re not going to put a new nickel in it?” said Dr. Joseph Parks, medical director of the nonprofit National Council for Behavioral Health, which advocates for addiction treatment providers. “As far as moving the money around, that’s like robbing Peter to pay Paul.”
The Trump administration had considered a bolder emergency declaration, under the Stafford Act, which is typically used for natural disasters like hurricanes. But they decided that measure was better suited to more short-term, location-specific crises than the opioid problem. Drug overdoses of all kinds kill an estimated 142 Americans every day.
The opioid crisis has infiltrated Louisiana workplaces, where the Workers’ Compensation Research Institute reports 85% of injured workers on pain medication received opioids from 2012 to 2014. The state ranked No. 1 among 25 states for long-term use.
Read the full Associated Press story and check out Business Report’s June cover story on Louisiana’s opioid epidemic.
