Federal Funding Cuts Threaten Progress.
Dear Friend,
You’ve probably seen the news: 2024 saw nearly a 27% decrease in overdose deaths compared to 2023. It’s a hopeful sign—but the loss of 80,000 lives in a single year, the equivalent of a sold-out stadium, remains heartbreaking and unacceptable.
When we see a decline like this, our first question should be: “What’s working—and how can we do more of it?”
This progress is likely due to proven, lifesaving health and overdose prevention interventions, including: increased access to naloxone, which reverses opioid/fentanyl overdoses; greater availability of medications like methadone and buprenorphine that reduce opioid cravings, withdrawal, and overdose risk; funding for treatment and recovery; and wider access to fentanyl test strips.
Given this news, the federal government should be doubling down on its investment in health and overdose prevention services. Instead, it’s doing the opposite. The House of Representatives just moved forward with deep cuts to Medicaid—the largest payer of substance use disorder treatment in the country—and are considering slashing public health grant programs.
This is especially alarming because President Trump claims to understand the urgency of the overdose crisis and the threat of fentanyl. Yet these cuts would gut access to treatment, naloxone, and essential health services that prevent overdoses and address addiction. Weakening Medicaid will have catastrophic consequences—not just for people struggling with addiction, but for millions of Americans who rely on it for care.
The consequences of these cuts will be devastating: more lives lost to overdose, more suffering for families and communities, and rolling back on progress made to save lives and increase access to needed addiction services.
Our elected officials must match their rhetoric with real policy action. Saving lives means investing in, not dismantling, the health, treatment, and prevention services that are turning the tide.
Tell the Trump administration and Congress: Preserve funding for addiction treatment and public health. Lives depend on it.
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Thank you for standing with us to keep people safe, alive, and healthy.
In health,
Kellen Russoniello
Director of Public Health
Drug Policy Alliance
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