WASHINGTON – In case you missed it, the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee, under Ranking Member Maggie Hassan (D-NH), on Monday released a report highlighting the importance of Medicaid and the addiction treatment it provides in the fight against fentanyl. The report, which includes new state-by-state data, shows that approximately one million Americans currently receive the gold standard of opioid addiction treatment through Medicaid.
Senator Hassan warned that proposed cuts to Medicaid by Congressional Republicans and the Trump Administration would severely undermine ongoing efforts to combat the fentanyl crisis. The cuts also run counter to the Trump Administration’s newly released drug policy priority of increasing access to addiction treatment.
Read more from Fox News, NPR, the Union Leader, the Washington Times, or below. You can also read the JEC report here.
By Charles Creitz
[…] Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., the top Democrat on the Congressional Joint Economic Committee, told Fox News Digital both the Trump administration and Congress agree that addiction treatment is crucial in combating the fentanyl crisis.
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Several states have laws that would go into effect and immediately halt certain Medicaid expansion subsidies if federal Medicaid funding to those states is cut.
In the report, Hassan’s caucus provided footnoted figures for several states, including her home state, where Medicaid expansion would be curtailed under any Medicaid appropriation cut.
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But, Hassan’s panel warned Trump’s well-intended plans to expand access to medication-assisted opioid treatment could face a roadblock if state trigger laws nix Medicaid coverage.
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NPR: Critics say GOP Medicaid cuts could slash fentanyl addiction treatment
By Brian Mann
As Republican lawmakers search for deep spending cuts, a growing number of critics fear a roll-back of Medicaid dollars spent helping Americans slammed by the street fentanyl crisis.
A report released Monday by Democrats on the Congressional Joint Economic Committee warned medical treatment for more than a million people in the U.S. now receiving medical treatment for opioid addiction, including fentanyl, could be affected.
"President Trump and Congressional Republicans have proposed gutting Medicaid— in order to pay for tax breaks for corporate special interests and billionaires — which would jeopardize addiction care just as our country is finally starting to see progress in addressing the fentanyl crisis," said Sen. Maggie Hassan, a Democrat from New Hampshire, in a statement.
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Union Leader: Hassan releases report on Medicaid's success in battling fentanyl addiction
By Kevin Landrigan
More than 100,000 U.S. citizens — including 7,600 New Hampshire residents — would lose their medication treatment for opioid use disorder if Congress adopts President Donald Trump’s proposed cuts to Medicaid, according to a new report released Monday by Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H.
Democrats on the Joint Economic Committee produced a report on the impact that Medicaid expansion has had on combating the crisis of fatal overdoses due to fentanyl.
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In New Hampshire, 77% of those who get medication-assisted treatment do so because they qualified under expanded Medicaid the state Legislature adopted in 2015 when Hassan was governor.
Among the nearly 1 million on Medicaid that receive this treatment, 60% get it through Medicaid expansion.
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By Lindsey McPherson
Democrats warn that if Republicans cut Medicaid funding, particularly from the expansion population as the GOP has suggested is a target, it could reduce funding for opioid addiction treatment.
A report from the Joint Economic Committee Democrats, led by New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan, found that roughly 1 million people receive medication treatment for “opioid use disorder” through Medicaid.
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“With the plan that we’re seeing from congressional Republicans and President Trump to end Medicaid as we know it — all in order to pay for more tax giveaways for billionaires — the president is set to surrender one of our best tools in the fight against fentanyl,” Ms. Hassan said.
She said if Republicans cut Medicaid that would contradict one of the president’s drug policy priorities, to increase access to medication-assisted opioid treatment.
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