Hearing of the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee for the Senate Appropriations Committee - Opening Statement of Sen. Murray, Hearing on Opioid Crisis

Hearing

"Thank you, Mr. Chairman for calling this hearing on the opioid epidemic which continues to be a public health crisis.

"I am very pleased to welcome Dr. Charissa Fotinos, the deputy medical director of the Washington State Health Care Authority. Welcome, Dr. Fotinos, it's great to have you here.

"I am looking forward to your testimony, as well as hearing from our other State witnesses about how they're using Federal resources to make a real difference in the lives of patients and families struggling with addiction, and what additional actions are needed to stem this epidemic.

"Since 1999, almost 400,000 people have died from an overdose involving opioids, from prescription painkillers, to illicit opioids such as heroin, to synthetic opioids such as fentanyl.

"Approximately 130 people in this country die every day from an opioid overdose.

"And the White House's own Council of Economic Advisors estimated the economic cost to our country of the opioid crisis is over $500 billion dollars each year.

"This doesn't begin to capture the emotional devastation caused by the opioid crisis--from health providers who are treating babies born addicted to opioids, to more kids placed in foster care, to parents who have lost children to an overdose--and some even now raising their children's children as a result--to veterans in chronic pain who are struggling with addiction.

"Unfortunately the list goes on and on.

"Yet the Trump Administration has been shockingly silent when it comes to addressing this crisis of addiction here at home.

"Earlier this month the Administration released its first ever National Drug Control Strategy. It contains nothing new. It identifies no funding needs. It is 20 pages long, and easily summarized in two words--not enough.

"But despite the Administration's inaction, Congress has taken steps to address the epidemic. With bipartisan support, Congress has passed two major pieces of legislation through the HELP Committee to deal with the epidemic.

"And this subcommittee has provided an increase of $2.6 billion in new resources to combat opioid abuse, which includes $1.5 billion in block grants to States through the State Opioid Response program.

"But we know this barely addresses the scale of the problem.

"Medicaid is by far the nation's largest payer for behavioral health services, including services for people with substance use disorders.

"Together, the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid expansion have expanded access to treatment for millions of families, providing a critical lifeline for people with substance use disorders.

"While the Trump Administration claims to be fighting the epidemic, the reality is that it's done everything in its power to undermine access to treatment, including taking Medicaid coverage away from people who can't meet bureaucratic hurdles to prove they've reached a minimum number of working hours, causing tens of thousands of people to lose coverage and supporting health care repeal efforts that would cause millions of people to lose health coverage, and make coverage worse or less affordable for millions more with pre-existing conditions.

"I hope to hear from some of our witnesses today about how they're using Medicaid expansion and other Federal resources to address the epidemic.

"I also hope we will hear from our witnesses about how to address areas where there are treatment gaps, such as in rural areas and among Native American populations.

"There is so much more that needs to be done. So I hope as we listen to our witnesses, we also continue listening to each other and looking for additional opportunities to address this crisis in a bipartisan way.

"Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

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