Shaheen announces $63B plan to fight drug addiction

U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen introduced sweeping legislation Friday to spend $63 billion over 10 years to combat addiction beyond the opioid epidemic.

Shaheen, a Democrat seeking a third term next year, outlined her proposal at a news conference with recovery center workers, health care providers and advocates.

Substance abuse disorders claim 70,000 lives a year nationally at a cost of $500 billion to the economy, she said. New Hampshire, meanwhile, has one of the nation’s highest drug overdose death rates. The state medical examiner’s office said in May that the 2018 total was 470 deaths, with results of two cases still pending. That was down slightly from the previous year, but Shaheen said such figures should not become the “new normal.”

While Congress recently authorized $6 billion over two years to respond to the opioid crisis, Shaheen said providers and others need more flexibility in how they spend such money.

Read more: https://www.concordmonitor.com/Shaheen-announces-broad-legislation-to-address-addiction-26964093