McGovern Applauds White House Push to Address Opioid Crisis

Public, Private Sector Efforts Emphasize Importance of Prevention and Treatment

Washington, DC, October 22, 2015

Today, Congressman Jim McGovern (MA-02) applauded the new efforts announced by President Obama to address the opioid crisis that is affecting families in Massachusetts and states around the country. President Obama’s announcement came on the same day the Massachusetts Department of Public Health announced new data that shows the opioid overdose epidemic in Massachusetts continues without interruption in the first half of 2015.

“Taking a comprehensive approach to fighting the opioid epidemic is essential and the new efforts announced by President Obama are a strong step,” Congressman McGovern said. “Every day, Massachusetts families are seeing the devastating impact the opioid crisis is having on our communities and the data released this week shows that it has only gotten worse. Prevention and treatment must be at the heart of our approach. I am glad to see that these are front and center in the new efforts announced by the president and I am grateful to have him as a strong partner in helping us to end the opioid epidemic once and for all.”

In President Obama’s visit to Charleston, West Virginia yesterday, he announced new federal efforts to address prescription drug and heroin addiction. Preliminary data released in Massachusetts show a troubling 63 percent increase in opioid overdose deaths in 2014 (1,089) compared with 2012 (668).

President Obama issued a Memorandum to Federal Departments and Agencies directing two important steps to combat the prescription drug abuse and heroin epidemic:

  • Prescriber Training:  First, to help ensure that health care professionals who prescribe opioids are properly trained in opioid prescribing and to establish the Federal Government as a model, the Presidential Memorandum requires Federal Departments and Agencies to provide training on the prescribing of these medications to Federal health care professionals who prescribe controlled substances as part of their Federal responsibilities.
  • Improving Access to Treatment:  Second, to improve access to treatment for prescription drug abuse and heroin use, the Presidential Memorandum directs Federal Departments and Agencies that directly provide, contract to provide, reimburse for, or otherwise facilitate access to health benefits, to conduct a review to identify barriers to medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorders and develop action plans to address these barriers. 

Click here to read more about the new efforts announced by President Obama to help fight the opioid epidemic impacting Massachusetts families.

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