MESSAGE FROM THE CEO: Combating the Opioid Crisis

Message from the CEO

Combating the Opioid Crisis

Bill Prentice

Bill Prentice, CEO

 

Message from the CEO

Combating the Opioid Crisis

As the country grapples with a tragic opioid epidemic, the government and ASCA are working to support a comprehensive solution to address the abuse and misuse of pain-killers. According to the US Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), opioid overdoses accounted for more than 42,000 deaths in 2016, more than any previous year on record. An estimated 40 percent of opioid overdose deaths involved a prescription opioid. To counter the crisis, in October 2018, President Donald Trump signed into law the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment (SUPPORT) for Patients and Communities Act (H.R. 6). A key provision in the act directs HHS to review and adjust payments under the Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System and Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC) Payment System to “avoid financial incentives to use opioids instead of non-opioid alternative treatments.”

 


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