Funding Cuts to Medicaid and Essential Health Services Threaten to Reverse Recent Decline in Overdose Deaths

New York, N.Y. – Yesterday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported a 27% decrease in overdose deaths in 2024. This is a hopeful sign, but the House of Representatives just moved forward with deep cuts to Medicaid—the largest payer of substance use disorder treatment in the country. They are considering slashing public health grant programs next. If these cuts go through, they could have severe consequences for reversing the progress Americans have made in fighting the overdose and fentanyl crisis.

In response to the new CDC data, Kellen Russoniello, DPA’s Director of Public Health, issued the following statement:

“The recent decline in overdose deaths is a meaningful step in the right direction, but losing over 80,000 people a year is still far too many. We need to ask what’s making overdose deaths go down and how we can do more of it. It’s clear that lifesaving tools like the overdose-reversal drug naloxone and treatment medications such as methadone and buprenorphine are helping. But instead of investing more in these lifesaving tools, the Trump administration’s funding cuts threaten to increase overdose deaths. They are slashing Medicaid, the largest payer of substance use disorder treatment in the country, and other essential programs. Messing with Medicaid will have catastrophic consequences for people struggling with addiction and millions of Americans who rely on this lifeline. If Trump is committed to reducing overdose deaths, he must protect Medicaid and restore federal funding for treatment and overdose prevention services for the American people.”

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About the Drug Policy Alliance

The Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) addresses the harms of drug use and drug criminalization through policy solutions, organizing, and public education. We advocate for a holistic approach to drugs that prioritizes health, social supports, and community wellbeing. DPA opposes punitive approaches that destabilize people, block access to care, and drain communities of resources. We believe that the regulation of drugs should be grounded in evidence, health, equity, and human rights. In collaboration with other movements, we change laws, advance justice, and save lives.