Courtney Leads Bipartisan Effort To Target Drug Addiction Resources At The Hardest Hit Regions

(Washington, DC) —Today, Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02) led his colleagues from a diverse group of states facing high numbers of drug overdose deaths in writing to House of Representatives leadership urging action on H.R. 5109, the Federal Opioid Response Fairness Act. The legislation would ensure that federal investment designed to address the opioid epidemic is targeted at the regions where it has resulted in the highest per capita overdose death rates, like Connecticut and West Virginia.

"As states continue to face mounting deaths caused by drug addiction and overdoses, we need spend our resources wisely by targeting the areas with the highest number of deaths," said Courtney. "While this is a crisis that affects every part of our country, whether it's rural, suburban or urban, some areas of our country such New England have been particularly hard hit by addiction and overdose deaths. I am urging the administration to target the limited resources we currently have available at the federal level to assist those communities that have been most heavily impacted by the costs of the prescription opioid and heroin epidemic."

In 2016, Congress provided $1 billion split between two years for the State Targeted Response to the Opioid Crisis grant program through the 21st Century Cures Act, the second allocation of which was distributed to states last week. Additionally, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018, also known as the Omnibus bill, recently appropriated an additional $1 billion for the State Targeted Response program for Fiscal Year 2018. The Federal Opioid Response Fairness Act would alter the formula used to distribute funds through the State Targeted Response to the Opioid Crisis grant program to consider both per capita prescription opioid, heroin, and synthetic opioid mortality rates as well as the prevalence of opioid use disorders in each state when determining the amount of grant funding each state is allocated. This would be a change from the current formula, which considers only the total number of overdose deaths in a state, leading to more populous states receiving significantly larger awards.

As congressional panels begin consideration of new legislation aimed at renewing the federal commitment to addressing growing rates of heroin and opioid overdose death, the members ask for inclusion of this important adjustment.

The full letter is below and available online

April 26, 2018

The Honorable Paul Ryan

Speaker of the House

H-232, United States Capitol

Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi

Minority Leader

H-204, United States Capitol

Washington, DC 20515

Dear Speaker Ryan and Leader Pelosi:

We are pleased that the House has embarked on efforts to renew our commitment to addressing the nationwide opioid and heroin epidemic. Communities in our states continue to struggle with rising overdose death rates and the financial strain this crisis has put on local governments. Expanding upon the bipartisan, opioid response framework developed by Congress in the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act and the 21st Century Cures Act are necessary to keep up with an ever-growing need. As discussions about how best to build upon this foundation continue, we write to urge your consideration of H.R. 5109, the Federal Opioid Response Fairness Act, and its goal of helping states disproportionately impacted by the opioid crisis respond effectively.

As you know, the 21st Century Cures Act provided $1 billion over two years for the State Targeted Response to the Opioid Crisis grant program, and outlined a formula which the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) used to determine allocations for each state. This grant funding is designed to help states increase access to treatment and reduce opioid related deaths. However, the formula failed to distribute the funds based on the severity of need, leaving certain states, especially smaller states, with a grant allotment that was insufficient to address their need.

As it is currently written, the formula favors larger states, as it considers the total number of overdose deaths, not the rate of death due to overdose. For example, the state of West Virginia received among the smallest awards, despite having the largest overdose death rate in the nation, at 52 deaths per 100,000 in 2016.

The Federal Opioid Response Fairness Act offers a framework for how to address this disparity should SAMHSA distribute additional funds through the Sate Targeted Response grant program. Specifically, it directs SAMHSA to consider both per capita prescription opioid, heroin, and synthetic opioid mortality rates and the prevalence of opioid use disorders in each state when determining funding allotments under this grant program. It would also set a minimum award of $5 million, an amount that more appropriately reflects the severity of the crisis in even the smallest states.

This meaningful change will ensure that our federal investment properly targets the regions that face the most severe and deadly aspects of this growing and pervasive public health danger. We appreciate your leadership and look forward to working with you to renew our nation's commitment to ending this crisis.

Sincerely,

Rep. Joe Courtney (D-CT)

Rep. Ann McLane Kuster (D-NH)

Rep. David B. McKinley, P.E. (R-WV)

Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE)

Rep. Evan H. Jenkins (R-WV)

Rep. Bruce Poliquin (R-ME)

CC: Rep. Greg Walden, Chairman, Energy and Commerce Committee

Rep. Frank Pallone, Ranking Member, Energy and Commerce Committee

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