What happens next now that Trump deemed opioids a national emergency

The Washington Post

President Donald Trump last week said he considers the opioid crisis to be “a national emergency,” starting a process aimed at giving the federal and state governments more resources and flexibility to deal with the epidemic.

“The opioid crisis is an emergency, and I’m saying officially right now it is an emergency,” Mr. Trump told reporters at his golf club in Bedminster, N.J.

The president did not offer details of what his emergency declaration would entail, and he said his administration is working on the paperwork needed for the declaration to take effect.

From a strictly practical standpoint the emergency declaration would have two main effects, according to Keith Humphreys, an addiction specialist at Stanford University (and frequent Wonkblog contributor) who worked in the federal Office of National Drug Control Policy under President Barack Obama.

“First, it lets states and localities that are designated disaster zones to access money in the federal Disaster Relief Fund, just like they could if they had a tornado or hurricane,” Mr. Humphreys said. States and cities would be able to request disaster zone declarations from the White House, which would enable them to use federal funds for drug treatment, overdose-reversal medication and more.

“Second, declaring an emergency allows temporary waivers of many rules regarding federal programs,” Mr. Humphreys said. “For example, currently Medicaid can’t reimburse drug treatment in large residential facilities (16 or more beds). That could be waived in an emergency.”

Mr. Trump’s opioid commission recommended he make the emergency declaration, but his statement Thursday was an abrupt reversal from 48 hours ago, when Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, after meeting with President Trump, said at a press briefing that such a declaration was unnecessary.

Groups advocating for a public health-centered approach to the epidemic are worried about what powers an emergency declaration would grant an administration with a fondness for “tough on crime” law enforcement tactics.

“We need to be cautious about the intentions of this administration,” said Grant Smith of the Drug Policy Alliance.