On October 28, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra released the agency’s new Overdose Prevention Strategy, which aims to increase access to care and services for individuals with a Substance Use Disorder (SUD) and their families. The strategy targets a number of substances that can lead to overdose and outlines multiple treatment approaches for addressing SUDs that engage a multitude of stakeholders, particularly at the county level.

According to data cited in the HHS Strategy, from 1999 to 2019, over 840,000 Americans have died due to drug overdose in the United States. The overdose crisis has evolved since the early 2000s, with deaths attributable to prescription opioids declining in 2019, while death due to synthetic opioids, methamphetamine, and cocaine increasing at rates of 50 percent, 30 percent, and 4 percent, respectively.

The HHS Strategy is centered around four priority areas of focus, including:

1. Primary Prevention: Utilizes a tiered approach to prevention using population level strategies and interventions directed at those at high risk for SUD. The strategy outlines federal action to support prevention efforts on the local level, which include research on innovations in prevention, investments in community resources to prevent harm associated with substance use, increasing access to high-quality pain management and the promotion of responsible prescribing for patient safety.
2. Harm Reduction: Seeks to utilize policy and interventions to ensure that continuous, effective care is given to those suffering from SUD, to minimize the negative effects of drug use and advance research on original approaches to harm reduction. To facilitate this work, HHS developed the SAMHSA Harm Reduction Grant, which can be leveraged by local governments to supports community-based overdose prevention programs, among other harm reduction services.
3. Evidence-Based Treatment: Reduces access barriers to effective treatments, supports research and development of new treatments for SUD and implements culturally enhanced models of care that increase treatment appeal and consent. The Justice Community Opioid Innovation Network (JCOIN), as well at the Rural Community Opioid Response Program (RCORP), are two initiatives lead by HHS, the National Institute of Health (NIH) and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) with the aim of advancing this priority policy. 
4. Recovery Support: Increases the use of recovery resources such as peer supports, employment and housing services that can be paired with treatment and support long-term recovery. The strategy outlines federal programs that are working to ensure the sustainability of recovery support programs in local communities, including SAMHSA’s Peer Recovery Center of Excellence, as well as the HRSA’s Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training Program for Paraprofessionals, which enhance the capacity of recovery community organizations, and expand the recovery support services workforce through community based training programs. 

The president’s budget has proposed $11.2 billion in funding for Fiscal Year 2022 for HHS to expand access to substance use prevention, treatment, harm reduction and recovery support services. In addition to the president’s FY 2022 budget request, numerous investments have already been made in federal COVID-19 relief packages to bolster the nation’s behavioral health infrastructure. Counties are key administrators of local SUD treatment and recovery services, and serve as intergovernmental partners with states, HHS and other federal agencies in implementing strategies to effectively treat, prevent and reduce substance use disorders in local communities. 

Additional Resources

• NACo Blog: Biden Administration to Invest $90 million in Rural Communities to Help Combat Substance Use Disorders and Improve Access to Maternal Care
• NACo Blog: HHS Announces Release of $1.5 billion for Local Opioid Response Efforts
• NACo Report: Opioids in Appalachia: The Role of Counties in Reversing A Regional Epidemic