ASTHO Requests $1 Billion in Emergency Supplemental Funding for Opioid Epidemic

ARLINGTON, Va., Dec. 4, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) is requesting that the Administration and Congress provide $1 billion in emergency supplemental funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state and territorial health departments to address the opioid epidemic.

This emergency supplemental funding will allow state and territorial health agencies to allocate additional resources for their top priorities, including:

• Strengthening public health surveillance to improve our understanding of the epidemic.
• Expanding opioid misuse and addiction prevention campaigns.
• Linking electronic health records and prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs).
• Expanding partnerships and collaboration with law enforcement.
• Expanding access to naloxone and linking patients to medication assisted treatment and other services.

"While the Administration has made major federal investments in treatment and recovery, health officials need funding for prevention," says Michael Fraser, executive director of ASTHO. "We strongly encourage Congress to provide this emergency supplemental funding and address this deadly crisis like any other emergency where the Administration proposes and Congress provides the resources necessary to defeat it."

More needs to be done to provide CDC, states, and territories with investments in prevention to turn the tide on this epidemic. There is an urgent need to prevent opioid misuse through population-based and community-wide public health programs including connecting PDMPs with electronic health records, surveillance, implementation of prescribing guidelines, and prescription drug public awareness campaigns. ASTHO's request aligns with many recommendations included in the President's Opioid Commission report and Gov. Chris Christie's recent call for additional resources to address the opioid crisis.

To view ASTHO's $1 billion opioid emergency supplemental request, click here.

Visit my.astho.org/opioids to view ASTHO's opioid framework, access resources, and learn about promising practices that state and territorial health agencies are undertaking to end the opioid epidemic.

ASTHO is the national nonprofit organization representing the public health agencies of the United States, the U.S. territories and freely associated states, and the District of Columbia, as well as the more than 100,000 public health professionals these agencies employ. ASTHO members, the chief health officials of these jurisdictions, are dedicated to formulating and influencing sound public health policy and to ensuring excellence in public health practice.

SOURCE Association of State and Territorial Health Officials