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Obama will travel
to a summit in Atlanta to meet addicts in recovery, family
members, medical professionals and law enforcement officials to
talk about the opioid epidemic, which has become an issue in the
2016 presidential election campaign.
In 2014, a record number of Americans died from drug overdoses,
with the highest rates seen in West Virginia, New Mexico, New
Hampshire, Kentucky and Ohio.
The White House said Obama would announce $11 million in grants
for up to 11 states to held expand medication-assisted
treatment, and another $11 million for states to buy and
distribute naloxone, an overdose drug.
The Health and Human Services Department will also propose a new
rule for buprenorphine, a medication used to help addicted
people reduce or quit their use of heroin or painkillers.
The rule would allow physicians who are qualified to prescribe
the medication to double their patient limit to 200. The White
House said that measure would expand treatment for tens of
thousands of people.
"I hear again and again that we need to continue to expand
access to effective treatment for substance abuse disorders,"
Michael Botticelli, the White House director of National Drug
Control Policy, told reporters.
Obama is set to announce a new task force aimed at ensuring
private health plans have "parity" or comparable coverage for
substance use treatment and mental health services as they do
for medical and surgical benefits.
HHS will also finalize a rule to ensure parity for substance use
and mental health treatment for people with low incomes enrolled
in Medicaid and the federal Children's Health Insurance Program
- a rule that could help more than 23 million people gain access
to treatment, the White House said.
Obama earlier this year asked the U.S. Congress for $1.1 billion
in new funding over two years to expand treatment for the opioid
epidemic.
(Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Editing by Peter Cooney)
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