Dive Brief:
- In response to the nationwide epidemic of heroin and prescription drug abuse, the Obama administration released a memorandum Wednesday aiming to improve treatment access and curb the overprescribing of opiate painkillers.
- The memorandum notes the CDC has identified addiction to prescription pain medication as the strongest risk factor for heroin addiction, and the number of overdose deaths from prescription opioids quadrupled from 1999 to 2013, resulting in more than 16,000 deaths in 2013.
- The goals include doubling the number of physicians who can prescribe drugs for treatment and asking federal health insurance plans address barriers to addiction treatment.
Dive Insight:
Obama spoke about the issue this week in West Virgina to promote the agenda and share details, including that more than 40 medical provider groups have agreed to train physicians, dentists, and other clinicians on safe prescription protocols for opiate medications. In addition, CVS says it will expand the pharmacy availability of Naloxone without a prescription to more states, and Rite Aid says it will educate its pharmacists about Naloxone use in the coming year.
The Washington Post notes the administration has proposed $133 million in funding for efforts to reduce overprescribing, improve overdose data collection, and increase access to Naloxone. However, it suggests Congress is unlikely to act on the proposal.
In addition, critics argued additional concerns remain, including efforts from federal officials to oppose bans on new opioid products or reductions to access.