Following is a comment from U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) on news today that the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services has awarded the state of Florida an additional $27 million in federal funding to help combat the opioid crisis:
“The nation’s opioid epidemic is a real public health emergency and we need to be doing everything we can to combat this crisis. The only way we’re going to be successful in fighting this epidemic is by providing local communities with the funding they need to bolster their prevention, treatment and recovery efforts.”
The funding comes from a 2016 measure Nelson supported to provide states with $1 billion over two years to combat the opioid epidemic. The $27 million Florida will receive this year is on top of the $27 million it received last year under the law – bringing the state’s total received under the bill to $54 million.
Nelson sponsored legislation earlier this year to provide states an additional $12 billion to fight the opioid epidemic.
Here’s a copy of HHS’s announcement about the new funding:
Today, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is releasing the second year of funding to 57 states and territories totaling $485 million to continue the Nation’s efforts to combat the opioid crisis. The Opioid State Targeted Response (STR) grants, which were created by the 21st Century Cures Act, are administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) within HHS.
STR grants address the opioid crisis by increasing access to treatment, reducing unmet treatment need, and reducing opioid overdose related deaths through the provision of prevention, treatment and recovery activities for opioid use disorder (including prescription opioids as well as illicit drugs such as heroin). Grantees must use funding to supplement existing opioid prevention, treatment, and recovery activities in their state. An additional $1B recently appropriated will be coming out in September 2018.
