By Melissa K. Hansen
States are on the front line of the nation’s prescription drug overdose epidemic, according to Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Many state legislators shared that sentiment in a recent NCSL-produced video, "Prescription Drug Overdoses: An American Epidemic."
Drug overdose deaths in the United States have tripled since 1990, primarily due to increasing rates of prescription opioid painkiller abuse and misuse. According to the CDC, 113 people die every day as a result of a drug overdose—more than die from motor vehicle crashes.
The CDC hopes to help states address this problem through “Prescription Drug Overdose: Prevention Boost” grants, which were recently awarded to Kentucky, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah and West Virginia. Over the next three years, the CDC will provide more than $6 million to health departments in these states, all of which have a high burden of overdose rates and are poised to make immediate progress reducing prescription drug overdoses.
The three-year grants will help leverage prescription drug monitoring programs, enhance insurance mechanisms—including implementing effective benefit design strategies—and evaluate policies to understand what works.
Melissa K. Hansen is a program principal in NCSL's Health program.
Email Melissa.