HHS announces $1.5B in State Opioid Response grant funding

Photo: Jeff Lagasse/Healthcare Finance News

In response to the ongoing opioid addiction and overdose epidemic, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), has rolled out a State Opioid Response (SOR) grant funding opportunity that will provide nearly $1.5 billion to states and territories.

The SOR program, along with the Tribal Opioid Response grant funding opportunity that was also announced recently, are a part of President Joe Biden’s inaugural National Drug Control Strategy that was released last month, as well as HHS’ Overdose Prevention Strategy.

The SOR grant program provides formula funding to states and territories for increasing access to FDA-approved medications for the treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD), and for supporting prevention, harm reduction, treatment and recovery support services for OUD and other concurrent substance use disorders.

The program also supports care for stimulant misuse and use disorders, including for cocaine and methamphetamine. HHS said this helps to reduce overdose deaths by giving states flexibility in funding evidence-based practices.

“The State Opioid Response grant program delivers crucial aid to states and territories to help address in the crisis of overdose and death in our nation’s communities,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. “And, in line with HHS’ Overdose Prevention Strategy, this funding helps facilitate state- and territory-level efforts to ensure the full continuum of prevention, harm reduction, treatment and long-term recovery supports are in place and accessible to all who need them.”

WHAT’S THE IMPACT

Biden’s Unity Agenda, which he outlined in his first State of the Union address, was the catalyst for the grant funding. Biden touched on beating the opioid epidemic, as well as naming a chief prosecutor for pandemic fraud and pushing Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices.

Specifically, the SOR program seeks to provide states with the requisite funding to develop systems and networks of care with a special focus on those who have been devastated by the overdose crisis.

Overdose deaths have accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic, with data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimating that more than 105,000 people died from overdose in the 12 months ending in October 2021, the highest number ever recorded in a 12-month period.

In addition to implementing service delivery models that enable treatment and recovery support services – as well as prevention, education and harm reduction services – states and territories will be asked to develop naloxone distribution and saturation plans. The hope is that this will increase the availability and accessibility of the overdose-reversal medication.

The SOR grant will fund up to $1,439,500,000 to be awarded in fiscal year 2022 to 59 states and territories. This funding includes a set-aside for the states with the highest OUD-related mortality rates.

THE LARGER TREND

Overdose deaths were rising prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, but in 2020 there was a further significant increase in overdose deaths. According to provisional CDC data, overdose deaths increased more than 30% in 2020, leading to more than 93,000 deaths. This increase was driven by the use of synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl, and stimulants, such as methamphetamine and cocaine, or combinations of substances.

Pandemic restrictions intended to prevent the spread of COVID-19 have unfortunately also made it harder for individuals with substance use disorders to receive treatment and support services.

Providing funding for harm reduction services is one pillar of a four-pillar approach being implemented at the federal level. Evidence-based harm reduction strategies minimize the negative consequences of drug use, according to HHS.

The other three pillars of the administration’s opioid mitigation strategy are primary prevention, focusing on the root causes and predictors of substance use disorder, evidence-based treatment, and recovery support.

A December 2021 report from the Office of Inspector General found that while more than 1 million Medicare beneficiaries had a diagnosis of opioid-use disorder in 2020, less than 16% of those beneficiaries received medication to treat their condition. They accounted for fewer than 1 in 6 of all Medicare beneficiaries with opioid-use disorder.

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