Proposed US Law Would Direct Opioid Settlement Cash to Opioid Crisis Management

The opioid epidemic has seen millions lose their lives in the last 30 or so years. It began with prescription opioids and grew with heroin consumption, with the use of synthetic opioids such as fentanyl only making the situation worse.

At the start of the year, Representatives Ashley Hinson and Marcy Kaptur introduced a measure that directs states to use settlement funds from pharmaceutical companies to address issues associated with opioids, such as prevention and treatment services. Allocating these funds to prevention and treatment services, including rehabilitation centers and opioid treatment programs, may help fight this crisis.

These treatment programs offer medication-assisted treatment such as naltrexone, methadone and buprenorphine for individuals with opioid use disorder. It has been proven that these drugs significantly reduce the risk of overdose, opioid cravings and the spread of infectious illnesses, including hepatitis C and HIV.

It is surprising, however, that despite the huge demand for opioid treatment programs, estimates show that in 2021, only one in five Americans received associated drugs to fight opioid use disorder. This was mainly due to financial, institutional and regulatory barriers. Currently, most patients aren’t able to obtain drugs for opioid use disorder because of lack of coverage by public and/or private payers.

This is despite the fact that states which have adopted Medicaid expansion should be able to offer substance use treatments as a benefit. As of July 2024, only 10 states haven’t made this expansion.

The measure, called the Opioid Settlement Accountability Act, guarantees that settlement funds stay under local control while prohibiting the federal government from using Medicaid to take monies from these funds.

Most settlements stipulate that 85% of the monies must help alleviate the opioid crisis. However, there’s no guarantee that states are meeting this threshold. It is expected that more than $50 billion in settlement money will be allocated to local and state governments if the measure is approved.

There are some concerns about the measure, particularly the fact that it doesn’t mention how the use of settlement funds by every state will be monitored by Congress. Additionally, it doesn’t make it mandatory for states to be transparent with where the funds have been allocated.

Despite these concerns, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration remains committed to improving access to medications for opioid use disorder. Thus far, it has gotten rid of a requirement that directed health practitioners to obtain a waiver to be allowed to prescribe buprenorphine.

Private sector players such as Nutriband Inc. (NASDAQ: NTRB) have been bringing to market a number of innovative products geared at preventing the abuse of prescription opioids. Such companies recognize the important role that opioids play in healthcare and the solutions they make could contribute toward stemming the tide of opioid misuse and the resultant overdose issues, including fatalities.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Nutriband Inc. (NASDAQ: NTRB) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/NTRB

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