Senator Elizabeth Warren on Wednesday unveiled a revamped, $100 billion plan to address the opioid crisis that calls for directing significant new resources to communities hit hard by drug addiction, taxing the wealthy to pay for the new resources and imposing criminal penalties on pharmaceutical executives found to have negligently contributed to the epidemic.
Warren is the second Democratic candidate to release such a plan, following Sen. Amy Klobuchar. President Donald Trump has also made addressing the drug crisis a top priority.
What would the plan do?
The Massachusetts Democrat updated a proposal that died in the last Congress and attempts to expand access to addiction treatment and prevention services by directing billions of dollars in new spending to communities devastated by the opioid crisis. Her plan emphasizes Medicaid's role in helping treat addiction and ensures greater access to both inpatient and outpatient care under the program.
How would it work?
The proposal is modeled after the federal Ryan White HIV grant program and provides a dedicated funding stream of $100 billion over a decade, including $4 billion annually to states, territories and Native American tribes for prevention and treatment services. It also sets aside $2.7 billion each year for those counties and cities with the highest rates of drug overdose deaths.
The plan also calls for $1.7 billion for public health surveillance and research for addiction treatments, and new resources to support training health care workers caring for patients with substance use disorders.
It additionally provides $1.1 billion for public organizations and nonprofit entities working with at risk populations, to support treatment and harm reduction services, like needle exchanges. Another $500 million would be directed to first responders and public health departments to increase access to the life-saving overdose reversal drug, naloxone.The plan also creates new programs for people at risk or struggling with an opioid addiction in the workplace, and helps health care providers treat patients with other mental health disorders. And it would designate new funding to expand the capacity of addiction treatment providers who treat Medicaid patients.
Warren said a separate proposal she authored would impose criminal penalties on executives of companies that "deliberately hurt people through criminal negligence." She pointed to the Sackler family, owners of OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma, which has been under intense scrutiny for its role in the opioid crisis.
What are the weaknesses in the proposal?
The original version never got a vote last year. Fiscal conservatives oppose the $100 billion price tag and opponents argue the federal government is already sending billions of dollars to states, territories and tribes to address the crisis.
The way Warren proposes paying for the plan by taxing highest earners would again likely be a non-starter on Capitol Hill.
How much would it cost?
$100 billion
How would she pay for it?
Warren said she would pay for the plan by imposing a 2 percent annual tax on people who earn $50 million or more. She says that would raise $2.75 trillion over a decade and cover her other policy proposals including universal free college tuition and child care.
What have other Democrats proposed?
Klobuchar last week proposed a $100 billion plan to combat addiction. Her proposal focused more broadly on other forms of addiction and mental health issues. The cost would be covered by a 2 cent tax on each milligram of active opioid ingredient in a prescription, paid for by drug manufacturers or importers.
Who would it help?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that nearly 130 Americans fatally overdose on opioids every day, and millions more struggle with opioid addiction and other substance use issues like alcohol, according to federal figures.
Who opposes it?
So far, no Democrats have expressed opposition to this kind of plan.
Article originally published on POLITICO Magazine