US Secretary of Well being and Human Providers Robert F. Kennedy Jr., himself in long-term restoration from opioid habit, says a nationwide emergency declaration linked to opioid overdose deaths can be prolonged previous Friday’s expiration date.
JIM WATSON/AFP by way of Getty Photographs/AFP
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JIM WATSON/AFP by way of Getty Photographs/AFP
The Trump administration is extending by way of mid-June an emergency declaration linked to the opioid overdose disaster that was set to run out on Friday.
In a press release, U.S. Division of Well being and Human Providers Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. acknowledged drug deaths within the U.S. “are beginning to decline” however mentioned the Trump administration will proceed treating the opioid disaster as “the nationwide safety emergency that it’s.”
President Trump has linked fentanyl smuggling to his tariffs towards Canada, China and Mexico. In doing so, Trump has usually made factually inaccurate claims in regards to the variety of drug deaths within the U.S. He is additionally mentioned repeatedly Canada is a big supply of avenue fentanyl reaching U.S. communities, which is unfaithful in accordance with knowledge gathered by U.S. Customs and Border Safety.
In truth, drug overdose deaths have been declining quickly within the U.S. for the reason that summer season of 2023, with fatalities linked particularly to fentanyl down roughly 30 p.c. In all, roughly 30,000 fewer persons are dying every year from avenue medication in comparison with the height of the disaster in June 2023. That is in accordance with the newest knowledge from October 2024 gathered by the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention.
In response to Kennedy, renewing the general public well being emergency declaration for 90 days will enable the federal authorities continued flexibility responding to the disaster.
It is unclear why drug deaths are declining so quickly, although many consultants credit score public well being measures carried out by the Biden administration. Opioid-treatment medicines equivalent to buprenorphine, methadone and naloxone, often known as Narcan, are way more broadly accessible now.
Below the Inexpensive Care Act, Medicaid has additionally emerged as a number one supply of insurance coverage protection for habit therapy and healthcare associated to avenue drug restoration. Some Republicans have proposed deep price range cuts that would impression Medicaid funding.
Democrats in Congress, in the meantime, have criticized the White Home for firing roughly 10 p.c of federal employees targeted on habit on the Substance Abuse and Psychological Well being Providers Administration.
