CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - Top White House officials praised President Donald Trump’s commitment to fighting the opioid crisis during a Wednesday visit to New Hampshire, saying it’s been “a centerpiece” of his young presidency.
But U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price and Republican Gov. Chris Sununu largely sidestepped responding to concerns that a Republican-backed health care overhaul will jeopardize access to substance abuse treatment that’s now required to be covered.
“What the president is committed to and what we’re committed to is to make sure that every individual has access to the kind of coverage that they want,” Price said.
Price and Trump counselor Kellyanne Conway are traveling the country on a “listening tour” about the opioid crisis, also visiting West Virginia, Michigan and Maine. Their roundtable Wednesday with New Hampshire advocates, including law enforcement, health officials and treatment experts, was closed to the press. But people inside said the importance of substance abuse coverage under Medicaid expansion was a frequent topic. Prevention programs and law enforcement efforts were also discussed. Attendees said Conway and Price rarely spoke.
Prior to the event, Democrats slammed the Republican health care proposal that’s now in the U.S. Senate. The plan would cut funding for Medicaid expansion, which has provided substance abuse treatment to roughly 11,000 New Hampshire people.
“I know firsthand how important Medicaid is to people in New Hampshire,” said Valene Colby, who is now in recovery after receiving treatment. “It would be cruel, insensitive and out of touch for Congress to pass a bill that would do such damage to the program.”
New Hampshire’s opioid crisis came up frequently on the campaign trail, with Trump often marveling how a place with such beautiful scenery could be ravaged by drug abuse. Nearly 500 people died from an overdose last year, with the synthetic opioid fentanyl as the primary culprit.
Since he’s entered the White House, Trump has created a commission headed by Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie tasked with finding solutions to the nation’s epidemic.
Still, few concrete actions have been taken. The administration is considering slashing money for the Office of National Drug Control Policy, but Price said Wednesday that money would be shuffled to other areas. Price said he’s focused on five key issues: treatment, expanding access to overdose reversal drugs, understanding the geographic underpinnings of the crisis, further researching opioid addiction and pain management.
“The president is all in,” Price said. “He has such passion for this issue because he knows the misery and the suffering that has occurred across this land.”
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