WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., on Friday announced the Turn the Tide Act, which would provide $63 billion in funding through 10 years to deliver flexible drug treatment funding to providers.

The substance use disorder epidemic is taking more than 70,000 lives per year throughout the nation and costing the economy approximately $500 billion, according to one Trump administration estimate.

“The substance use disorder epidemic is not only the worst public health crisis in our state’s history, it is also the most persistent,” Shaheen said. “Hundreds of overdose deaths a year in New Hampshire cannot become the norm – we have to continue battling this epidemic until we’ve turned the tide and the federal government can be doing much more to help hard-hit states like ours. Every death represents a family member, a friend or a coworker lost. Despite progress in making more federal resources available to our state, the sad truth is that New Hampshire still doesn’t have the capacity and resources to get treatment to everyone who needs it. The Turn the Tide Act is a substantial long-term investment in getting more Granite Staters, and Americans across the country, on the road to recovery.”

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for New Hampshire recently announced that the total number of overdose drug deaths for 2018 was 470.

“The longer-term funding and the scope of this Turn the Tide Act will allow us to do just that,” Navigating Recovery of the Lakes Region Executive Director Daisy Pierce said. “This bill will grant service providers the ability to comprehensively address the needs of their communities, and recognizes that Substance Use Disorder affects every aspect of a person’s life. From adverse childhood experiences, to prevention, treatment, recovery, housing, and the workforce – this bill funds our best efforts to help people, and not just for opioids. We are so grateful to have Senator Shaheen advocate so powerfully on our behalf.”

The introduction of this bill follows Senate passage of legislation Senator Shaheen co-sponsored to prevent fentanyl trafficking into the U.S. The Fentanyl Sanctions Act passed the Senate as part of the annual defense authorization bill.

Shaheen helped negotiate the bipartisan agreement in 2018 that outlined the two years of opioid response spending – totaling $6 billion to respond to the opioid crisis. This included the set-aside funding for states with the highest mortality rates, like New Hampshire. This additional funding, which Shaheen helped broker, has been included by Congress during the last two fiscal years.

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