Trump declares opioid crisis a public health emergency
Critics say plan falls short in providing funds to fight epidemic
WASHINGTON — President Trump on Thursday called the nation’s opioid epidemic the “worst drug crisis in American history,” saying his administration is declaring it a public health emergency and putting its full resolve into overcoming the widespread scourge.
The announcement, however, fell well short of what many health advocates had urged and was roundly criticized by Democratic lawmakers, particularly for what they said is insufficient funding to truly address a crisis claiming an estimated 100 lives or more per day.
“As Americans, we cannot allow this to continue,” Trump said during an event in the East Room of the White House, where he was joined by first lady Melania Trump, who has taken on an elevated role in highlighting the impact on families. “It is time to liberate our communities from the scourge of drug addiction. … We can be the generation that ends the opioid epidemic. We can do it.”
With Trump’s declaration, the federal government will waive some regulations, give states more flexibility in how they use federal funds and expand the
use of telemedicine treatment, according to senior administration officials.
But the president stopped short of declaring a more sweeping national state of emergency that would have given states access to funding from the federal Disaster Relief Fund, as they would after a tornado or hurricane. Officials who briefed reporters said that such an emergency declaration would not be a good fit for a longtime crisis and would not offer authorities that the government doesn’t already have.
Democratic members of New Mexico’s congressional delegation say they’re disappointed no new funding comes with President Donald Trump’s declaration of the opioid crisis as a nationwide public health emergency.
Sen. Tom Udall said that if the Trump administration is serious about saving lives, it needs to actively seek major new funding through congressional budget negotiations before the end of the year.
“Experts have plainly said over and over again that states and local communities can win the battle against addiction,” Udall said, “but only if we invest real resources and action — not just lip service. … President Trump and Republicans’ efforts to sabotage the Affordable Care Act, decimate Medicaid, and reject new funding for the opioid crisis just take us backward.”
U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján had similar comments, saying, “If the President were truly serious about making a difference in this fight, he would not be pushing a budget that cuts nearly a trillion dollars from Medicaid” or slashing the budgets of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Institutes for Health.
Attorney General Hector Balderas said the federal government also needs to do more to target the pipeline of drugs that has flooded New Mexico and other states.
New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas, speaking Thursday on MSNBC’s Meet the Press, said he appreciated Trump declaring a state of emergency, but added, “We’ve been in a state of emergency for a decade.” Babies in New Mexico are born addicted at a rate that is 10 times the national average, he said, adding that he hopes Trump will litigate drug companies responsible for what he called “a pipeline of destruction.”
In September, Balderas sued some of the nation’s largest opioid manufacturers and wholesale distributors, accusing them of downplaying addiction risks and failing to monitor suspect prescriptions.
The presidential memorandum signed by Trump on Thursday orders Eric Hargan, the acting secretary of health and human services, to declare a nationwide public health emergency and direct all federal agencies to use any emergency authorities that they have to reduce the number of opioid overdose deaths. The last time that a national public health emergency of this scope was called was in 2009 in response to the H1N1 influenza virus. The emergency status will last 90 days but can be repeatedly renewed.
Shortly after Trump’s event, Hargan said he had declared the emergency and noted that in the current fiscal year his department has invested nearly $900 million in “opioid-specific funding” to support the efforts of state and local governments and others.
In making his appeal, Trump — who is often accused of lacking empathy — invoked the story of his brother Fred Trump, who died of complications related to alcoholism. The president credited his brother for warning him of the effects of drinking and said a concerted national advertising campaign could keep people from becoming addicted to opioids and other drugs.
“I learned because of Fred. I learned,” Trump said.
He continued: “I think that’s going to end up being our most important thing — really tough, really big, really great advertising so we get to people before they start, so they don’t have to go through the problems of what people are going through.”
Trump spoke to an audience that the White House said included family members of those affected by the opioid crisis, along with an array of administration officials and elected leaders from across the country.
“We are here today because of your courage,” the first lady told the audience. “The opioid epidemic has affected more than 2 million Americans nationwide, and sadly the number continues to rise. … No state has been spared, and no demographic has been untouched.”
One important step authorized by Thursday’s emergency declaration was the waiver of a 1970s-era policy that blocked Medicaid payments to inpatient treatment facilities with more than 16 substanceabuse beds. That should make treatment more widely available.
President Trump also said the Food and Drug Administration is requiring “a specific opioid, which is truly evil, be taken off the market immediately.” Trump did not specify the drug, but in June the FDA successfully sought the removal of the opioid Opana ER from the market. Its manufacturer, Endo Pharmaceuticals, reformulated the drug in 2012 to make it more difficult to crush and snort, but the FDA said that move actually led to more injections — and a major HIV outbreak.
Trump said the Postal Service and the Department of Homeland Security are strengthening package inspections in an attempt to reduce the flow of the street drug fentanyl, much of which is synthesized in China, sent to the United States and mixed with powdered heroin by dealers.
Trump also said the federal government might file suit against companies he called “bad actors,” presumably those in the pharmaceutical industry that have allowed painkillers to reach the black market. Private attorneys have already filed some lawsuits, and a coalition of 41 state attorneys general is investigating the role of some companies in the epidemic.
Officials said that the White House is working with Congress to find additional funding for the crisis — which experts say will cost tens of billions of dollars to properly address — but they declined to share any exact figures.