President Donald Trump unveiled his initiative to tackle the opioid crisis in New Hampshire Monday afternoon.
His multipronged plan would increase prevention efforts, enact stiffer penalties on drug traffickers — including the death penalty — and expand access to treatment.
The director of Grace Street Recovery Services in Lewiston, Marty O’Brien, says one of the biggest barriers to getting more people into treatment is a lack of insurance.
“If expansion to treatment includes federal funding for the poor to have access to treatment, that works,” he says.
Trump’s opioid plan does not provide specific details as to how it would be funded.
O’Brien does say, however, he’s concerned that the stiffer penalties would work against police departments that are now seen as a resource for people who need help.
“In this state, law enforcement has been referring people to treatment a lot and they’re very very involved with that treatment,” he says.
O’Brien says he works with many people in treatment for opioid addiction who previously sold drugs to support their habit.
Marty Sabol of Nasson Health Care in Sanford says a major step toward improving access would be for Maine to expand Medicaid.
“States that have Medicaid expansion are so far ahead of the others in terms of managing their medication assisted treatment efforts,” he says.
Maine voters passed Medicaid expansion last November. Gov. Paul LePage is opposed, and has told lawmakers they have to find funding without raising taxes or using the state’s rainy day fund.
