HHS Awards $43,506,208 to Illinois to Combat the Opioid Crisis

 

[September 20, 2018] 

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced $43,506,208 in opioid-related funding to help Illinois combat the crisis. Nationwide, HHS awarded a total of over $1 billion to all states. The awards, administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) support HHS’s Five-Point Opioid Strategy, which was launched last year and enhanced this week.

“Addressing the opioid crisis with all the resources possible and the best science we have is a top priority for President Trump and for everyone at HHS,” said Secretary Alex Azar. “The more than $1 billion in additional funding that we provided this week will build on progress we have seen in tackling this epidemic through empowering communities and families on the frontlines.”

The $28,989,372 in SAMHSA awards will help to increase access to medication-assisted treatment using the three FDA-approved medications for the treatment of opioid use disorder, reducing unmet treatment need, and reducing opioid overdose related deaths through the provision of prevention, treatment and recovery activities for opioid use disorder.

The $14,516,836 in HRSA awards will enable 50 HRSA-funded community health centers and or, academic institutions, and rural organizations in Illinois expand access to integrated substance use disorder and mental health services.

“This week, HHS updated its strategic framework for tackling the opioid crisis, which uses science as a foundation for our comprehensive strategy,” said Admiral Brett Giroir, Assistant Secretary for Health and Senior Advisor for Opioid Policy. “With these new funds, states, tribes, and communities across America will be able to advance our strategy and continue making progress against this crisis.”

Last week, SAMHSA unveiled new data, the 2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, which found that the number of Americans initiating heroin use dropped by about half from 2016 to 2017. The number of Americans misusing opioids also dropped for the second year in a row, a strong indication of encouraging progress in the fight against the opioid epidemic.

From January 2017 through August 2018, the amount of opioids prescribed in America has dropped by 21 percent. In the same time, the number of prescriptions filled for naloxone has increased 264 percent, while the number of prescriptions for buprenorphine, one form of medication-assisted treatment for opioid overdose, has risen 16 percent (data from IQVIA’s Total Patient Tracker).

The Trump Administration will continue working to make progress against the opioid crisis, which in 2017 claimed more than 130 lives per day.

Further HHS Actions This Week

As part of Prescription Opioid and Heroin Epidemic Awareness Week, other actions by HHS agencies include:

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

The FDA expanded its requirement for offering training in appropriate prescribing of risky medications.

The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health alerted healthcare providers to how they can be expanding access to medication-assisted treatment through telemedicine.

HRSA launched the “Addressing Opioid Use Disorder in Pregnant Women & New Moms Challenge,” which will award prizes to support tech innovations to improve access to substance use disorder treatment, recovery, and support services for pregnant women with opioid use disorders, their infants, and families, especially in rural and geographically isolated areas.

The Agency for Health Research and Quality launched a new microsite to inform researchers and released new data regarding opioids and elderly Americans.
Later this week:

Surgeon General Jerome Adams will release a Surgeon General’s “Spotlight” on the opioid crisis.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) will launch a significant funding opportunity for communities hardest-hit by the epidemic to test a comprehensive strategy supported by NIH and other agencies across the federal government.

SAMHSA will release new, usable information to inform expectant mothers and their families about neonatal abstinence syndrome.
For more information on this week’s actions and regarding HHS’s commitment to combating the opioid crisis, please visit HHS.gov/opioids

[HHS Office of Public Affairs]