In order to garner support for the Senate TrumpCare bill, Senate Leader McConnell is rumored to buy votes with $45 billion in funding to go towards treating the opioid epidemic. Every dollar counts, but $45 billion doesn't even undo the damage caused by this bill. Even Ohio Republican Governor told Senator Rob Portman, $45 billion for opioids treatment is “like spitting in the ocean—it’s not enough.”
Researchers estimate that the 10-year cost to care for those needing comprehensive substance use disorder treatment is up to $220 billion. To care just for those who would lose coverage due to TrumpCare’s repeal of Medicaid expansion, states would need to make up $183 billion by 2026 for the lost opioid treatment coverage.
Senate TrumpCare also cuts Medicaid by nearly $800 billion, crippling the most important mechanism to get needed funding to cash-strapped states. Medicaid has long played an important role in responding to public health crises like AIDS, the Flint water crisis, and the September 11th terrorist attacks. [4] The last thing Congress should be doing for the fight against the opioids epidemic is cutting Medicaid funding by 35 percent over the next 20 years.
