Thirty-two. That is how many overdoses we had in McDowell County in 2023, according to preliminary data. Mercer County had 84, which is an increase from 56 in 2022. McDowell had 32 that year and 37 in 2021.
Enough is enough!
We need to do everything we can to reduce the number of overdose deaths in these counties and the entire state. The opioid crisis has wreaked havoc on so many different aspects of life in our state.
It has resulted in our foster care system being overwhelmed as have our jails. Families and
entire communities have been devastated by overdoses and substance use disorder. It is time we got a handle on this problem and started moving those numbers in the other direction.
One way to do so is by passing the federal Alternatives to PAIN Act. This bipartisan bill is already supported by Congresswoman Carol Miller, who has signed on to the House bill as a co- sponsor.
The bill will reduce the number of opioids that are prescribed, which will reduce the number of people who become addicted. It will do so by expanding access to non-opioid medications that are used to treat acute pain.
The new non-opioid medications represent an amazing advance in medicine. They are currently making their way through the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval process. They reduce pain without targeting the opioid receptors. Non-opioids also do not active the reward centers in the brain, which means they are non-addictive and do not lead to substance abuse.
We need to make sure that these medications are accessible to the public and that is where the Alternatives to PAIN Act comes in. This bill addresses access for individuals on Medicare Part D.
Our senior citizens are an underreported casualty in this fight.
In 2021, 1.1 million senior citizens were diagnosed with substance use disorder. Substance use disorder leads to overdoses and it leads to the whole host of other social problems that I mentioned in above.
The Alternatives to PAIN Act will address this issue by prohibiting Medicare Part D carriers from requiring step therapy or prior authorization when non-opioid medications are prescribed.
Step therapy is when an insurance provider requires a patient to use less expensive drugs
before they will pay for the non-opioid alternatives, even if those non-opioids are prescribed by a doctor. This is nothing more than a practice to save corporations money.
Now, as a conservative, I know the value of saving companies money. But those savings should not come at the expense of everyone else in our communities and that is exactly what is happening with this issue.
Expanding access to these revolutionary non-opioid drugs will help us address these issues. It is not the magic bullet, but we will see fewer people become addicted to opioids and that is a big step in the right direction.
We’ve seen the impact of this crisis in our neighborhoods, our towns, and our churches. We
have seen people that we know, and love become someone we don’t recognize because of
addiction.
This bill is a bipartisan effort to address perhaps one of the greatest social issues we have faced in the past 100 years. It is supported by Republicans and Democrats alike because it will help reduce substance use disorder across the board. I hope our representatives in Washington, D.C. recognize this and throw their support behind this bill along with Congresswoman Miller.
Bio: David Green is a member of the WV House of Delegates representing McDowell County. He sits on the House Substance Abuse Committee.