Lexington Herald-Leader: Federal cuts threaten addiction care, harm reduction services
“Organizations working to reduce Kentucky’s high rate of fatal drug overdoses face uncertain futures as the federal government aims to slash funding for health services,” Taylor Six reports for the Lexington Herald-Leader.
The cuts were announced in March when the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced it was canceling $11.4 billion in federal grants to state and local health departments during the Covid-19 pandemic. The funds were set to run through September.
The money was approved during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic to track and immunize against infectious disease, but it wasn’t just used for those services, Six writes.
It also paid for mental health and substance abuse services, including statewide harm reduction programs, the Purple Star Program, which supports service members, veterans and their families, staffing for 988 call centers, staffing to support youth drop-in centers, and services for pregnant and parenting families with or at risk of addiction impacts, Six writes.
On April 1, Gov. Andy Beshear joined 22 other state officials in a federal lawsuit in response to the announcement, claiming it was unlawful.
A judge granted a temporary restraining order that requires the government to continue payments for now. But they still have to survive the court fight, Six reports. If they are cut, Kentucky stands to lose $148.8 million, Crystal Staley, spokesperson for Beshear’s office, told Six.
Kentucky officials argue the money is still critical for harm reduction efforts in Kentucky, as overdose mortality rates in the commonwealth remain among the highest in the U.S.
The Kentucky Harm Reduction Coalition, a nonprofit whose mission is to prevent overdose deaths, said in a press release: “These reductions, no matter the amount, threaten the very services that have prevented overdose deaths and provided critical support to communities across the commonwealth.”
Looming Medicaid cuts
In addition to the Covid-19 funding issue, Kentucky could lose more than $800 million in federal funding that helps address substance use disorders, according to an analysis by the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy.
The Medicaid cuts would come from the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has been instructed to find $880 billion in savings from its areas of jurisdiction, which includes Medicaid. This committee is led by U.S. Rep. Brett Guthrie of Bowling Green. The committee is targeting May 7 for a markup of its portion of the Republican reconciliation package.
U.S. Rep. Morgan McGarvey, a Louisville Democrat, told the Herald-Leader that the funding cuts also affect children who receive treatment from Medicaid dollars for prenatal withdrawal or mental health and behavioral issues.
The lawsuit
The 45-page lawsuit to stop the pandemic-era health department cuts, filed in Rhode Island District Court, says the abrupt termination of the contract for services “immediately triggered chaos for state and local health jurisdictions.”
Six reports that “all but two states that filed suit were represented by their respective state attorneys general. Kentucky and fellow Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, of Pennsylvania, were the exceptions; both states have a Republican attorney general.”