The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced five grant awards totaling $47.2 million to combat substance abuse and the national overdose epidemic, according to a release on July 19 by HHS.
“Improving access to evidence-based treatment is one of the pillars of the HHS Overdose Prevention Strategy,” HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in the release. “Funding multifaceted efforts to prevent and treat addiction reflects our commitment to helping Americans attain and sustain recovery.”
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), a division of HHS, facilitated the grants, which will fund the HHS' four cornerstones of prevention - treatment, recovery support and harm reduction. The National Drug Control Strategy, part of President Joe Biden's Unity Agenda for a whole-of-government effort to combat the overdose pandemic, is advanced by the Overdose Prevention Strategy, the release said.
“Drug overdoses have taken a heartbreaking toll on our country, and addressing untreated addiction is a key component of President Biden’s National Drug Control Strategy,” White House Office of National Drug Control Policy Director Dr. Rahul Gupta said in the release. “These grant programs will help further advance the Biden-Harris administration’s efforts to support drug prevention, treatment, harm reduction and recovery services.”
SAMHSA head Miriam E. Delphin-Rittmon said the grants will help SAMHSA better perform its duties.
“The awarding of grants aimed at preventing and treating substance misuse is central to SAMHSA’s daily work with communities throughout our nation," Delphin-Rittmon said in the release. "The timing this year coincides with the implementation of a law that expands the number of prescribers eligible to provide medication for opioid use disorder treatment. Recovery is real and attainable.”
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (CAA), which Biden signed in December, eliminated the requirement for practitioners to have a waiver to prescribe medications such as buprenorphine for the treatment of opioid use disorder. Practitioners who have a current Drug Enforcement Administration registration that includes Schedule III authority will be authorized to prescribe buprenorphine for OUD in their practice if allowed by state law, HHS reported.
