Let Them Eat Horse –
March 13, 2019 – Trump has proposed moving two major grant programs out of ONDCP and sharp cuts to Medicaid, the core program providing health care for people suffering from substance-abuse disorder. The president also wants to impose work requirements on Medicaid recipients while slashing drug prevention efforts at the Justice Department, moves that fly in the face of Trump’s 2016 campaign promise to solve the opioid epidemic.
Overall, Trump’s budget proposes slashing prevention efforts by 5 percent across agencies and increasing interdiction efforts. “The budget plan does propose some new funding to fight the opioid crisis, including $245 million over 10 years to let states ‘extend Medicaid coverage for pregnant women with substance use disorder to one year postpartum,” Vox’s German Lopez reports. “Last year, his budget plan called for an additional $7 billion for 2019. This year’s budget proposal drops that request — with no explanation as to why that money is no longer necessary.” Reminder: The White House Council of Economic Advisers has previously stated the opioid epidemic has cost the U.S. $504 billion in economic losses.
