When the CR/budget deal was agreed to it included a commitment to provide $6 billion more in 2018 and 2019 to address the opioid epidemic. It is unclear how that will break out between treatment, enforcement and prevention but that will be taking place in these next several weeks as appropriations are dealt with. Senator
In response to demands for more support on dealing with the increasing numbers of infants born dependent, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA) has released a new comprehensive guide, Clinical Guidance for Treating Pregnant and Parenting Women With Opioid Use Disorder and Their Infants. The guide provides comprehensive, national guidance for
The budget agreement includes a further extension of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for ten years. The last CR had finally extended the expired CHIP program for six years. That was done because when Congress further restricted the ACA it meant that if CHIP disappeared it would be more costly to the federal
With CHIP reauthorized, one of the best vehicles for extension is no longer available to a list of vital and lesser known ‘health-extenders.’ that remain in limbo. Since this Congress seems to be unwilling to deal with these issues individually their best opportunity is a bigger package. Some of the more important programs include the
Recently one of our members passed along this 2017 article based on the experiences of child protection workers in one overburdened county in Ohio—one of those areas overwhelmed by the spread of opioids. ‘It’s just horrific’: caseworkers break their silence to reveal toll of addiction on children Read the article by The Guardian, and understand
CHIP has now been extended for six years but many other parts of the “health extenders” package remain in limbo. The CHIP extension became easy when CBO revised its long term cost projections. It basically paid for itself since some of the recent restrictions on the ACA may drive up government costs if families are
By a vote of 55 to 43 the Senate gave the final ok to the appointment Alex Azar to be the next Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. Azar becomes the second HHS Secretary for the Trump Administration. He fills a vacancy in the Secretary position created when Secretary Tom Price stepped
Last week CWLA signed onto a letter led by Families USA calling on Congress to protect access to affordable, high-quality and comprehensive health insurance. The letter tells congressional leaders: “Medicaid, Medicare, and private health insurance, including insurance provided through the health insurance marketplaces, support the health, well-being, and financial security of millions of families across
On Friday, January 19, Eric Hargan, the Acting Secretary for Health and Human Services announced the extension of “public health emergency” due to opioid addiction. It is not clear what impact the declaration, and the President’s earlier declaration has had. It allows some flexibility in the allocation of some funds in some programs, but it
No official announcement has been made but much of Washington is expecting that the Administration will release their proposed FY 2019 budget in the first week of February. That is required by law. But that budget will base program cuts and increases on what FY 2018 spending was set at, which has not yet been