Gov. Wolf has plans to deal with heroin crisis
(Editor’s note: Gary Tennis is the acting secretary for the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs.)
You only have to open a newspaper, watch the evening news or glance through the obituaries to find the untimely deaths of so many of our young people to understand why the words – “epidemic” and “crisis” – are used so regularly in connection with the word “overdose.”
Substance abuse and addiction afflicts at least one out of four families in Pennsylvania. Like diabetes or heart disease, addiction is a treatable disease but far too often it is left untreated, resulting in unnecessary and tragic death. Substance abuse and addiction have crippling impacts on individuals, families and society. In addition, it creates a heavy cost burden on taxpayers.
Drug and alcohol prevention, intervention and treatment programs are a priority for the Wolf Administration. Gov. Wolf’s proposed fiscal year 2015-16 budget is exactly what the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP) needs to move towards its goal of reducing substance abuse in Pennsylvania. Further, I am excited to have recently announced key next steps for local county drug and alcohol agencies to submit proposals to access the $5 million in funding allocated for heroin and opioid addiction programs.
We are moving forward to strengthen our intervention strategies, increase the funding and implementation of best practices, increase utilization of Medicaid under Medicaid expansion, and engage private insurance funding, to achieve better outcomes for Pennsylvania. Our plan addresses the overdose crisis head-on. Over the next four years we intend to reduce overdoses, make our communities safer from addiction-driven crime, and have healthier schools, workplaces and communities.
We are collaborating with several other departments to reduce substance abuse addiction. Our department, in partnership with the Department of Health and the Pennsylvania State Police, recently announced the expansion of the life-saving drug, Naloxone, to state police patrol cars. This rollout could not happen without the coordination and support of multiple departments. The addiction epidemic compromises the work of every agency in one way or another, and when our department succeeds in its mission of reducing addiction, other agencies achieve success in their missions as well.
Addiction, left untreated or undertreated, drives up crime rates in our communities as individuals with untreated or undertreated addiction make up about 70 percent of our county jail and state prison population. Left untreated, they are likely to reoffend, or, even worse, overdose and die.
An overwhelming body of research shows that every dollar spent on treatment saves taxpayers $7 within 12 months of the expenditure. These savings are generated from reduced prison and other criminal justice costs, medical costs, and social assistance. If drug and alcohol addiction treatment is provided, we know we can convert criminal offenders into law-abiding, working, taxpaying Pennsylvanians. An overwhelming body of research shows that clinically appropriate treatment reduces recidivism by more than two-thirds.
We can no longer afford to ignore the elephant in the room. The 2010 survey U.S. Drug Control Strategy survey found that untreated addiction costs the United States approximately $400 billion annually – criminal justice costs, hospital emergency room services, domestic violence, car crashes, workplace costs all contribute.
Treatment for individuals given with the appropriate duration and with clinical integrity is a top priority. We have already begun working with our behavioral health managed care organizations by implementing the use of our Pennsylvania Client Placement Criteria, statutory accountability, and cost effectiveness of funding treatment with clinical integrity. Doing treatment right the first time not only saves lives; it’s good business.
My vision is a Pennsylvania where the terrible suffering of substance abuse addiction and overdose exists only at a small fraction of what we’re seeing today. Prevention programs across the state will be robust, well-resourced and evidence-based, and every Pennsylvanian struggling with this terrible disease will be able to get the level and duration of treatment and recovery supports they need.
Gov. Wolf’s proposed budget is a powerful step toward achieving a safer, healthier and brighter future for all Pennsylvanians.