President Trump To Declare Opioid Crisis National Emergency, But Ending Obamacare Could Make It Worse

WASHINGTON, DC — President Trump said Thursday that he is preparing a national emergency declaration in light of the opioid crisis, which he pledged to fight during the campaign. A new study, publicized the same day, suggests that this pledge might conflict with another campaign promise: repealing and replacing Obamacare.

Despite multiple failed efforts in Congress to overhaul the health care law, Trump continues to urge lawmakers to fulfill the promise.

"We will give people struggling with addiction access to the help they need," Trump said in October 2016, a message that resonated across the country, especially in rural communities devastated by the crisis that overwhelmingly supported the president. (For more information on this and other political stories, subscribe to the White House Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

But Ryan McKenna, an assistant professor at Drexel University who published a new study in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence using data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, found that Obamacare dramatically expanded access to opioid abuse treatment and lowered cost barriers.

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Obamacare, also known as the Affordable Care Act or the ACA, was passed in 2010.

"Since the national implementation of the ACA in 2014, those with opioid use disorder were less likely to be uninsured as well as less likely to report financial barriers as a reason they did not receive treatment," said McKenna. "Ultimately, a significant increase in access to treatment was observed for this population."

After the law went into effect, people with opioid use disorders were 72 percent more likely to be insured. These people were 158 percent more likely to receive treatment for their addictions under Obamacare, and it was 213 percent more likely that their health insurance would cover the costs of care.

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"These gains are an important first step," McKenna said. "Prior to national implementation, only about 25 percent of those with opioid use disorder reported receiving treatment, with the lowest rates of treatment being among the uninsured."

However, there are still significant gaps in coverage. Only 33 percent of people with opioid use disorders get access to care, Mckenna found, and only 16 percent have it paid for by their insurance. Being uninsured remains a huge problem: 27 percent of people with opioid use disorders lack health insurance. And 38 percent still find cost to be a barrier to treatment.

"We should keep in mind that this will not be solved immediately and that there are several factors working against those with opioid use disorder," McKenna said.

"It's a problem the likes of which we have never seen," Trump said Wednesday at a meeting addressing opioid abuse.

But all GOP legislation designed to repeal and replace Obamacare would reduce the number of people uninsured, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. McKenna's work suggests that any health insurance overhaul would need to preserve Obamacare's level of coverage, if not increase it, to continue progress in the fight against the opioid epidemic.

“It’s still too often the case that patients’ care is interrupted early due to insurance limitations," said Jeremiah Gardner, manager of media relations at Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, an addiction advocacy organization. "And sometimes these patients are unable to re-engage in care when their symptoms return. That’s why we believe any reforms to the state and federal healthcare policy landscape should expand the ability of all Americans to access appropriate treatment through their private or public health insurance plans."

He added: “While there’s no doubt our health care system needs further reform, especially to reduce costs, there’s also no doubt we’ve made positive strides on the access issue. That’s not just due to the Affordable Care Act. The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act has also played a key role in terms of requiring that insurance plans with addiction and mental health coverage provide a fair benefits on par with those for other illnesses and ailments."

Gardner said he hoped Democrats and Republicans could come together on this issue.

“Addiction is a bipartisan illness that demands a bipartisan solution – and we have been making bipartisan progress," he said. "We can and must continue to do so.”

Trump Promises State Of Emergency On Opioid Crisis

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