First, it includes $1 billion in new mandatory funding over two years to expand access to treatment for prescription drug abuse and heroin use. The President’s FY 2017 Budget takes a two-pronged approach to address this epidemic. The law also required that covered substance use disorder benefits are comparable to medical and surgical benefits. Under the Affordable Care Act, substance use disorder services are essential health benefits that are required to be covered by health plans in the Health Insurance Marketplace.

The President has made clear that addressing the opioid overdose epidemic is a priority for his Administration and has highlighted tools that are effective in reducing drug use and overdose, like evidence-based prevention programs, prescription drug monitoring, prescription drug take-back events, medication-assisted treatment and the overdose reversal drug naloxone. In particular, CDC found a continued sharp increase in heroin-involved deaths and an emerging increase in deaths involving synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl. New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that opioids-a class of drugs that include prescription pain medications and heroin-were involved in 28,648 deaths in 2014. More Americans now die every year from drug overdoses than they do in motor vehicle crashes.

Prescription drug abuse and heroin use have taken a heartbreaking toll on too many Americans and their families, while straining resources of law enforcement and treatment programs. President’s Budget includes new mandatory funding to help ensure that all Americans who want treatment can get the help they need

First defense nasal screens success