The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is awarding $1 million to Connecticut this year to improve access to treatment for opioid use disorders involving nonmedical use of opioids and heroin, the department announced today.
The funding is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Opioid Initiative, which was launched in March 2015 and is focused on improving opioid prescribing practices; expanding access to medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder; and increasing the use of naloxone to reverse opioid overdoses. The initiative concentrates on evidence-based strategies that can have the most significant impact on the crisis.
The Medication-Assisted Treatment Prescription Drug Opioid Addiction Grants, administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), will provide up to $11 million to 11 states to expand access to medication-assisted treatment (MAT) services for persons with opioid use disorder.
The program targets states having the highest rates of primary treatment admissions for heroin and prescription opioids per capita. In addition to Connecticut, awardees include Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Louisiana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon and Rhode Island.
Under President Obama’s FY 2017 budget proposal, states would be eligible for significantly more funding to expand access to treatment, $920 million over two years. If Congress were to fully fund the budget proposal, Connecticut would be eligible for up to $9 million over two years to expand access to treatment.