“Governors pressed senators for more funding to help tackle the opioid epidemic, as well as flexibility for states in tailoring spending to suit their specific needs, during a hearing of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee on Thursday.
Gov. Larry Hogan (R-Md.) thanked Congress for the $6 billion secured in its budget agreement to fight the opioid and heroin crisis, but “it’s a drop in the bucket compared to what we actually need,” he said.
Maryland, a small state, has already spent $500 million to battle the opioid epidemic alone, he continued.
“Six billion stretched across the country is not going to go very far … It’s the long-term recovery support services that we’re going to need a way to pay for.”
Hogan also asked for more state flexibility in allocating potential new monies.”
Read more at: https://www.medpagetoday.com/publichealthpolicy/opioids/71648
Source: MedPageToday.com – March 8, 2018
