Governor Hassan's Statement on President Obama's Announcement of Additional Actions to Combat Heroin and Opioid Crisis

Statement

Governor Maggie Hassan issued the following statement on President Obama's announcement today of federal actions to combat the heroin and opioid crisis:

"As we continue to work together every day in New Hampshire to combat the heroin and opioid crisis and save lives, I welcome the President's announcement of additional federal actions to help support our efforts. The actions announced today echo several recommendations that I have made with my fellow Governors and build on steps that we have taken at the state level, including expanding support for local law enforcement, increasing access to medication assisted treatment, improving provider training and prescribing practices, and establishing parity for behavioral health and substance misuse.

"In particular, I am pleased with the increase in the caseload for medication assisted treatment, but I continue to believe that Congress should act to allow medical professionals such as nurse practitioners and physician assistants to prescribe opioid addiction treatment medication as well. While today's announcement is an encouraging step forward by the federal government, we know that there is still much work to do in order to give patients, providers, families, educators and law enforcement better tools to combat this horrible epidemic, and I remain focused on working with members from both parties and stakeholders at all levels to build on these efforts."

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