The Trump administration plans to make major changes to federal assistance programs aimed at helping opioid addicts, including a $10 billion increase in the opioid overdose prevention program, anesthesiologist programs, and medical research programs, according to a draft outline of the proposal obtained by Bloomberg News.
The outline, released Thursday by a senior administration official, also would allow states to take over some of the programs.
It is unclear whether other provisions of the plan are included in the draft.
The Trump-led administration has already announced plans to slash the federal government’s Medicaid and SCHIP programs.
The outline does not offer specifics on how the new programs will be funded.
The opioid overdose reduction programs, which are already under intense scrutiny, are at the center of a debate over how to help Americans who are addicted to opioids.
A series of high-profile deaths, including that of Ohioan D’Arcy Barnes in January, have sparked calls to bolster the programs amid concerns about their effectiveness.
The White House has also pledged to make opioid-related health care a top priority for the Trump administration.
It said that $5 billion in federal funds would go to help states and the private sector develop “state-based opioid-specific health plans.”
The Trump administration has proposed slashing $8 billion from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) budget, which has been heavily criticized for its reliance on state-run overdose prevention programs.
The CDC would lose about $1.2 billion, and the Trump-backed opioid addiction prevention and treatment programs would lose another $4 billion.
The proposed opioid-focused overdose prevention funding would help states provide treatment for addicts who are not receiving treatment.