Raimondo Applauds President Obama’s Actions to Address Opioid Addiction

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Governor Gina M. Raimondo applauded the White House’s action
today addressing the nation’s spreading opioid addiction and overdose crisis. President
Barack Obama announced new rules that will expand access to medication-assisted
treatment and behavioral supports. Additionally, the White House announced that
the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is finalizing rules that will
strengthen
access to mental health and substance use services for people enrolled in Medicaid.
The announcement comes shortly after the White House and HHS released $94 million
– including $650,000 for Rhode Island – in new funding for community health centers
to increase substance use disorder treatment.
«Opioid addiction and overdose is this generation’s public health crisis,» Raimondo
said. «Overdose is one of the top causes of preventable death in Rhode Island and
it reaches into every community in our state. I applaud President Obama’s efforts
to expand access to treatment. Today’s announcement will strengthen efforts already
underway in Rhode Island and help us achieve our most important goal in this work:
save lives.»
«The most important message we can communicate in this fight is that overdose is
preventable and recovery is possible,» Director of the Rhode Island Department
of Health Nicole Alexander-Scott, MD, MPH, said. «The President’s commitment to
expand access to evidence-based treatment will save lives in Rhode Island and every
other state.»
In her FY 2017 budget, Governor Raimondo proposed $4 million in new funding to address
the overdose crisis, including $1.5 million in additional Medicaid funds to expand
access to peer recovery supports and $2.5 million to support medication-assisted
treatment at the Adult Correctional Institute.