HHS awards additional $487 million to states for opioid response

The Department of Health and Human Services this week awarded $487 million in fiscal year 2019 grants to help states and territories increase access to medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder and reduce opioid overdose deaths. “Strategies such as employing psychosocial supports, community recovery services and MAT using medicines approved by the [Food and Drug Administration] constitute the gold standard of treatment for opioid use disorders,” said Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use Elinore McCance-Katz, M.D. The 10 states with the highest overdose mortality rates received 15 percent of the funding. HHS expects to award another $933 million in state opioid response grants later this year as part of its five-point opioid strategy, launched a year ago this week.