Michigan’s statewide effort to reduce the number of people dying from opioid overdoses has been working.
A collaboration among state and county agencies, hospitals, first responders, and community non-profits across the state — along with federal money for drugs to treat overdoses and addiction — has moved Michigan from having the 13th highest number of opioid overdose deaths in the nation, a decade ago, to the 36th.
“So that’s a massive reduction,” said Dr. Chad Brummett, co-director of the Opioid Prescribing Engagement Network (OPEN) at the University of Michigan. “I think people should be proud of that. We shouldn’t take our foot off the gas.”
But many fear that is exactly what might happen, if federal funding for key drugs are slashed, and Medicaid eligibility is reduced.