Overdoses from prescription opioids and heroin killed a record high of 28,000 people in 2014, according to the CDC. As the opioid epidemic continues to claim the lives of Americans, the Democratic presidential nominee has put forth details on a $10 billion plan to combat drug abuse in the United States.
Here are three things to know about Hillary Clinton's "Initiative to Combat America's Deadly Epidemic of Drug and Alcohol Addiction."
1. The money: According to the Office of National Drug Control Policy, the federal government spends approximately $200 billion to $300 billion each decade to fight drugs. Ms. Clinton's plan would add $10 billion in funding over the next 10 years, of which $7.5 billion would go to states to back their own plans to decrease drug abuse. The remaining $2.5 billion would be distributed directly to federally funded drug abuse prevention and treatment programs.
2. The states: Policy programs Ms. Clinton would encourage states to pursue include:
• Investing in peer mentorship, after-school activities, community service initiatives and other programs geared toward drug abuse prevention
• Taking steps to bolster treatment and recovery infrastructure by funding facilities like community behavioral health centers
• Assisting police, fire departments and EMTS by providing these public servants with additional funds to obtain the opioid overdose antidote naloxone
• Encouraging prescribers to use state drug monitoring program to track opioid prescriptions
• Investing in programs that work to send appropriate individuals suffering from drug addiction into treatment facilities instead of jail cells
3. The feds: Immediate federal actions to be initiated under Ms. Clinton's plan include:
• Enhancing access to medications designed to treat opioid addiction by allowing nurse practitioners and physician assistants to prescribe the medications
• Confirming insurers are complying with federal law on insurance parity for those with mental health issues like drug addiction
• Identifying best practices for covering substance abuse disorders via both Medicaid and private insurance
• Encouraging better prescriber practices in Medicare and the Veterans Administration
• Imploring the Attorney General to deliver guidance for the prioritization of treatment over incarceration for nonviolent and low-level federal drug offenders
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