Via press release from KY Policy
Drug overdose deaths have recently declined across the U.S. and in Kentucky, but that progress is now at risk due to potential cuts threatening more than $800 million in annual federal funding the commonwealth receives to help address substance use disorders, according to a new KyPolicy analysis.
That federal funding plays a crucial role in Kentucky’s efforts to prevent opioid overdose deaths by providing access to evidence-based substance use disorders (SUD) treatment, including for Medications for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD), proven harm reduction strategies (such as Narcan, fentanyl testing strips and syringe support programs), community-based services and other supports.
“Not only do these cuts endanger the significant progress Kentucky has already made to reduce overdose deaths, they undermine work to further address an epidemic that still took nearly 2,000 Kentucky lives in 2023 and, despite improvements, is actually getting worse for Black Kentuckians,” said Joy Girgis, KyPolicy Policy Associate and the piece’s lead author.
Medicaid, which Congress has signaled its intention to cut, provides many thousands of Kentuckians each year with treatment and other opioid use disorder (OUD) services. In fact, there are more people with some form of SUD covered under Medicaid than covered under private insurance. Protecting Medicaid from federal cuts preserves Kentucky’s fight against overdose deaths.
There are several other funding streams from the federal government that Kentucky utilizes to improve SUD & OUD outcomes. Tens of thousands of Kentuckians have benefitted from these efforts, and our wellbeing as a state depends on their continuation.
Read more about these programs and the harms of cutting Medicaid in the full analysis here.
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