Blue Cross gives $10M to opioid fight
Overdoses killed 2 people a day in Ariz. since 2017
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona announced last week that it will be investing $10 million over the next three years in an initiative to help reduce opioid misuse in the state.
At least two people per day have died of an opioid overdose in Arizona since June 15, 2017, when the state began collecting opioid data.
The Blue Cross Blue Shield initiative, called Mobilize AZ, will include a minimum of $3 million in annual grants to Arizona organizations and academic institutions, plus funding that will fill in gaps in preventing and treating the misuse of opioids and other substances, said Pam Kehaly, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona president and CEO.
Mobilize AZ will focus on prevention, treatment and recovery, she said.
Funds have already been disbursed to expand the supply of Naloxone, which is a medication that can reverse an opioid overdose, she said.
Other plans for the money include expanding medication-assisted treatment for opioid misuse, removing barriers to treatment, and helping healthcare providers to balance pain management with addiction prevention in their treatment of patients.
“While this epidemic is all over the news, it’s not just the headlines that get our attention. It’s the impact that addiction has on the lives of our friends, our families and our co-workers,” Kehaly said.
“Every day, the Arizona Department of Health Services tracks the number of suspected opioid overdoses, the deaths, and the babies born with withdrawal symptoms,” she added. “Every day, that number goes up. There are people and those who love them behind these numbers with stories of loss and fear.”
The Blue Cross Blue Shield money is an extension of $10 million that Arizona already invested in preventing and treating opioid misuse in underinsured and uninsured people, Kehaly said.
Gov. Doug Ducey and the state Legislature set the stage with that investment, plus a package of laws addressing the opioid crisis, she said.
“Inspired by this dedicated leadership, we’re taking action and we hope it inspires others to join as well,” she said. “We believe it will take us all — insurers, doctors, employers, government, regulators standing together in the community to help save lives and truly make an impact.”
Ducey attended the announcement with Kehaly and thanked the nonprofit insurance company for helping Arizona in “winning this fight” against opioid misuse.
“We all know that this battle is far from over,” Ducey said. “With partners like Blue Cross Blue Shield by our side, our efforts are only gaining strength, and I want the rest of the business community to hear that as a challenge.“
Though opioid overdoses have increased by 74 percent in Arizona since 2013, Ducey said the state is starting to make progress in addressing the problem.
He said the number of opioid prescriptions is going down, and more lawenforcement officers are administering Naloxone.
Kehaly said the Mobilize AZ initiative was not modeled after any other state, but was created with the help of an advisory committee that is aiming to fill in existing gaps in addressing opioid misuse. Members of the advisory committee include Prescott Police Chief Debora Black, Chicanos Por La Causa President and CEO David Adame, and Phoenix Police Chief Jeri Williams, among others.
“I think that this opens up a lot of opportunities for innovation and new projects that can address the opioid crisis,” said Haley Coles, executive director of Sonoran Prevention Works, a Phoenixbased nonprofit that aims to remove barriers for people affected by substance misuse.
Some of the existing needs in prevention and treatment of opioid misuse in Arizona include programs that address the needs of Arizona tribal communities, as Native Americans have the fastest-growing rate of opioid overdoses in the country, she said.
Other pressing needs in Arizona include more efforts to keep families together when parents have substanceabuse disorders and more expansion of medication-assisted treatment in rural areas, she said.
Coles’ organization already received $20,000 from Blue Cross Blue Shield to distribute fentanyl test strips, so that illicit drug users can check whether their drugs have been cut with fentanyl, which is a highly potent and potentially fatal synthetic opioid.
“It’s fantastic,” Coles said of the $10 million investment. “It could potentially make a huge difference if they ensure they are not duplicating efforts.”