With Delaware's addiction epidemic claiming one a day, advocates beg for more funding

In what stands to be Delaware's deadliest year for addiction, state lawmakers hold the keys for how much money will be available to fight this disease.

An average of one person is dying per day from suspected overdoses statewide this year, according to first quarter data from the state Division of Forensic Science. Alongside those devastating statistics sit 117 recommendations from the Behavioral Health Consortium and Delawareans who weighed in on how to stop the crisis.

Forty six of those recommendations are for Year 1 – and dollars are needed for just about all of them to be implemented in the coming year.

Some recommendations have already yielded legislation, but with less than 11 days left to go, there is concern from advocates and state leaders as to what will make it into the final budget.

High on the priority list is House Bill 440, which aims to create an “Overdose System of Care” — in short, a coordinated and consistent response for people who have experienced non-fatal overdoses. The particulars, however, like who would operate a “stabilization facility” for people who don’t want to go to the hospital after an overdose or how and with what money this would be implemented have yet to be determined.

“The main part of this is bringing all the stakeholders together under the right tent so we can all work together,” said Dr. Karyl Rattay, director of the state Division of Public Health, at the state Behavioral Health Consortium meeting. “So many of the details of this have yet to be determined.”

The bill passed a House committee meeting last week and is slated to hit the House floor this week.

But that’s not the only legislation some lawmakers are trying to get into the budget window. Enhancing the Prescription Monitoring Program, approving insurance coverage of alternative pain management techniques, and ensuring parity for behavioral health services are all accompanying efforts that legislation hopes to remedy in the coming budget year.

The Behavioral Health Consortium believes it will see $5 million in additional funding after releasing its report, $2 million of which will go toward funding the Delaware Health Information Network to better track and share data.

The remaining $3 million, however, has yet to be purposed, though the consortium has voiced strong support for increasing access to addiction treatment with the proposed additional funding.

Though the consortium's goals focus on behavioral health, Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long, who chairs the group, said addiction remains the "elephant in the room" for the state and the main priority of the consortium in the coming years.

"We all know the deaths are going to rise this year," Hall-Long said. "This year is going to be tough. But think about what would happen if we didn't have atTAcK Addiction and parents out there five years ago lobbying for naloxone. Think how bad it would be then."

The state has made strides in the last few years: getting the overdose-reversing medication, naloxone, onto pharmacy shelves across Delaware; helping law enforcement offer treatment rather than incarceration for low-level drug crimes; and increasing funding for efforts throughout the state to make addiction treatable locally rather than hundreds of miles away.

But when the opioid crisis costs Delaware about $100 million per year in health care, criminal justice, social services and education resources, according to a lawsuit filed against Big Pharma by state Attorney General Matt Denn earlier this year, more dollars are necessary – and fast.

"If the budget looks the same (when it's signed) as it does today, the good news is that the JFC (Joint Finance Committee) set aside $3 million in one-time funds that could be used for sober living and long-term residential treatment," Denn said. "But we don't know how much of that $3 million is going to be allocated to treatment."

Hall-Long said the consortium wants to use that money for treatment, but will likely need more direction from the state – and the official budget line – before it makes any plans.

The state already has about $24 million budgeted to the state Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health, which deals directly with addiction and behavioral health, Hall-Long said. Additional dollars are also expected to aid and respond to substance-exposed infants in the state, a population that has been growing as the opioid and heroin epidemic continues to worsen.

Additional requests for funding for a recovery high school, more sober living facilities, making naloxone more accessible and affordable, and creating an opioid tax remain on the table, as well. 

The opioid tax, which would place a fee on all opioids sold in the state or provide other measures of reimbursement to Delaware for the sale of these drugs, is especially important because it would give the state a constant stream of money to combat the epidemic, Denn said.

Both state Sen. Stephanie Hansen and Rep. Deborah Hudson have drafted bills that would accomplish this and create a Stewardship Fund, but Denn said it appears that efforts are underway to create a bipartisan bill addressing concerns on both sides of the aisle that could be pushed through by the end of this year's session.

Dave Humes, a founding board member at the nonprofit atTAcK Addiction, which has pushed for the implementation of this tax, said he's unsure of whether the bill will actually be passed this year. With more conversations slated for this week, he remains hopeful – and adamant that this action is necessary to combat the epidemic.

"We need more funding to get more treatment to stem the tide of death here," Humes said, "and who better to fund it than the people who started this public health crisis?" 

How to get help

Call the state's 24/7 Crisis Hotline for treatment and recovery options: 

New Castle County: 1-800-652-2929.

Kent and Sussex counties: 1-800-345-6785.

Online: Visit HelpIsHereDE.com.