Across the country, opioid-related deaths have skyrocketed, bringing this public health issue to the forefront of the nation’s conscience.

This week, members of Congress convened to discuss the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016 (CARA), a package of policies that aim to combat the national opioid epidemic.  Because the House and the Senate had previously passed different versions of legislation, the bill was sent to a conference committee comprised of both House and Senate members to resolve those differences in order to advance the proposed policy.

The CARA bill would significantly affect Baltimore City, where heroin-related deaths have increased by 73 percent over the past three years and hundreds of lives are claimed each year by opioid overdose. The bill includes provisions for getting people access treatment and recovery, starting community-based prevention programs, expanding training and use of overdose reversal drugs, as well as working with law enforcement to develop an alternative to incarceration approach to substance abuse. However, in its current form, CARA does not provide any funding for these initiatives.

During this week’s meeting, numerous legislators advocated to add amendments to the bill, proposing over $900 million in immediate, direct funding to combat the opioid epidemic. Unfortunately, all of these amendments failed, and as of now, the bill includes no direct funding.

“I now call on Congress to provide adequate funding for effective, evidence-based interventions,” said Dr. Wen. “We on the frontlines know what works. Baltimore City is a national model for addiction treatment and recovery. We need full funding for these life-saving programs.”

Baltimore City Health Department (BCHD) has developed and is implementing a comprehensive, three-pillar strategy to combat opioid addiction that led the way in Maryland and that serves as a national model of innovation:

1. Prevent deaths from overdose and save lives. The most critical part of BCHD’s opioid overdose prevention campaign has been expanding access to naloxone – the lifesaving drug that reverses the effect of an opioid drug overdose.
2. Increase access to on-demand treatment and long-term recovery support. Stopping overdose is only the first step in addressing addiction. To adequately treat people with substance use disorders, we must ensure there is adequate access to on-demand treatment. Nationwide, only 11 percent of patients with addiction get the treatment they need. In collaboration with Behavioral Health System Baltimore, the local behavioral health authority, BCHD has already taken several actions to ensure access to treatment, including creating a 24/7 Crisis, Information and Referral phone line (410-433-5175) and securing $3.6 million in capital funds to build a stabilization center.
3. Provide education to reduce stigma and prevent addiction. BCHD is leading a city-wide effort to educate the public and providers on the nature of addiction: that it is a disease, recovery is possible, and we all must play a role in preventing addiction and saving lives.

CARA would provide new support for each of these three pillars, and emphasizes what we know from science and research: that addiction is a disease, that treatment exists, and that recovery is possible.        

                                                                       In keeping with national trends, opioid-related overdose deaths have dramatically                                                                                        increased, spiking in 2015.