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May 15, 2018
Re: The Opioid Crisis Response Act of 2018
Dear Member of Congress,
We are writing on behalf of the Chronic Illness and Disability Partnership (CIDP). CIDP
consists of national organizations representing people living with a wide range of
chronic illnesses and disabilities, including cancer, cystic fibrosis, diabetes, HIV, Hepatitis
B and C, multiple sclerosis, and mental health and substance use disorders. We
represent the 117 million Americans estimated to be living with a chronic illness and/or
disability. While our organizations are national in scope, we also affiliate with strong
regional, state, and community based advocacy networks.
CIDP commends Congress for its ongoing, proactive effort to implement comprehensive
policy changes that will strengthen the public health response to the opioid epidemic.
With over 64,000 overdose deaths in 2016, including over 33,000 from the misuse of
opioids, we must take steps to ensure that communities have the tools and resources to
alleviate the risks and negative consequences linked to opioid use, dependence, and
overdose. We understand that the insidious combination of stigma, phobia, and silence
surrounding the overall health of people who use drugs in the U.S. has contributed to
countless deaths as a result of overdose. This crisis requires an honest and critical
examination of our efforts, explicit identification of effective public health programs for
people who use drugs, and a sharpening of our focus so that we can prevent overdose
among people who use drugs, prevent loss of life as a result of overdose, and ensure
health promotion opportunities are in reach for vulnerable populations in our
communities.
CIDP supports a comprehensive response to the opioid epidemic, including enhanced
funding and new initiatives across Medicaid and public health systems to support a
range of critical behavioral health and public health interventions. In particular, we
support the enhanced funding for Medicaid health home services for individuals with
substance use disorders as well as additional public health investments to support a
comprehensive approach to the opioid epidemic. However, the costs of forthcoming
legislation should not be offset by cutting vital funding for safety net programs that
serve people who use drugs and individuals living with chronic illnesses and disabilities,
including Medicaid, Medicare, and Affordable Care Act (ACA) funding. Additional federal
resources and funding should prioritize assisting jurisdictions and communities with
expanding these services. We urge Members of Congress to reject any proposals that
cut vital programming funding and instead pursue bipartisan solutions that ensure
people with chronic illnesses and disabilities have access to the comprehensive services
they rely on.
Additionally, we must ensure that we invest in services that meet people where they are
in the community at the same time as we expand other services to treat substance use
disorders. Parallel investments in both community‐based care, support, and services as
well as care delivered, as needed, in institutional settings are imperative to effectively
address the opioid epidemic. We urge Congress to take a holistic approach by rejecting
proposals that create incentives to preferentially invest in institutional treatment to the
exclusion of community‐based services.
Thank you for supporting opportunities to improve our nation’s public health and
promote the health of our most vulnerable communities. We urge Congress to continue
its commitment to the opioid epidemic in ways that ensure that people living with
chronic illnesses and/or disabilities have unfretted access to the programs and
assistance they depend upon. Please contact Robert Greenwald with the Treatment
Access Expansion Project (rgreenwa@law.harvard.edu), Amy Killelea with the National
Alliance of State & Territorial AIDS Directors (akillelea@nastad.org), or Jean McGuire at
Northeastern University (j.mcguire@neu.edu) if we can be of assistance.