KASICH URGED TO DECLARE OPIOID EMERGENCY
Lawmakers press Kasich to follow president’s lead.
Some state lawmakers are leaning on Gov. John Kasich to declare a state emergency to combat the opioid epidemic after President Donald Trump vowed to do so on the federal level.
Such a move from Kasich would allow the state to access previously unavailable federal funds and expand treatment for addicts across Ohio, Rep. Nickie Antonio said.
“This opens the door for the state of Ohio to access additional funds that haven’t been available before,” the Lakewood Democrat said. “When you have a crisis, you look for all options, anything.”
Asked if the administration would consider declaring the crisis an emergency, Jon Keeling, Kasich’s press secretary, said more information is needed about what the federal efforts would entail. He cited the “record $1 billion each year” the state spends to fight abuse and addiction, mostly through expanded Medicaid funded almost entirely by the federal government. Keeling said the administration would welcome any additional help from the federal government.
Keeling said an emergency declaration, which administration officials don’t believe is legally possible, could not be considered without clarity from the Trump administration about opportunities for states to access federal funds. Efforts on Kasich’s watch have included careful monitoring of the prescribing of opioid painkillers to deter abuse and other measures.
Antonio said ensuring that treatment is accessible and available to addicts when they need it most is of the utmost importance. Too often, she said, someone is ready to get help, only to be put on a wait list at a treatment facility.
The sentiment was echoed by Cheri Walter, the chief executive officer of the Ohio Association of County Behavioral Health Authorities.
“It’s not what you call it, it’s how you respond to it,” Walter said. Her organization issued a call for lawmakers to adopt an emergency declaration in march.
Among the biggest needs to stem the tide of opioid deaths are the number of detox center and beds, longterm residential treatment, growth in medication-assisted treatment and ample availability of naloxone, Walter said.
Kasich could declare a statewide public health emergency and apply for federal funding, which Antonio said could be used to immediately increase the number of beds available to addicts. An obscure Medicaid rule limits residential treatment facilities to 16 beds, with violators running the risk of losing funding if they provide more.
Antonio and her Democratic colleagues have called on Kasich to declare the drug epidemic an emergency for more than a year now. The governor has stymied such calls, even saying he doesn’t have the authority to make the declaration.
“I don’t even accept that the governor doesn’t have the authority,” Antonio said.
Kasich did declare a public safety emergency to cover $9.5 million in security funding for the Republican National Convention in Cleveland in July, 2016, but that differs from a public health emergency, which largely concerns adulterated products.
Ohio was rocked by overdose deaths in 2016, when more than 4,100 died from drug use. The fatal overdose rates soared by 36 percent from the 2015 numbers, which led the United States. Lawmakers have honed in on the epidemic, with Democrats calling repeatedly for an emergency declaration and the allocation of some of the state’s $2 billion rainy day fund to help stem the tide of deaths.
Those calls have found renewed vigor after the president’s announcement.
“It would be the right thing to do to declare a state of emergency and go after those federal funds,” Antonio said.
‘It would be the right thing to do to declare a state of emergency and go after those federal funds.’ Rep. Nickie Antonio