Feds launch $50M rural opioid treatment initiative

Photo: Grant Faith/Getty Images

Through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the Biden administration has earmarked nearly $50 million for HRSA's Rural Opioid Treatment and Recovery Initiative.

The funding will support establishing and expanding comprehensive substance use disorder treatment and recovery services in rural areas, including by increasing access to medications for opioid use disorder such as buprenorphine.

Opioid use disorder is particularly concerning in rural communities, HHS said, and accessing treatment can be challenging due to geographic isolation, transportation barriers and limited substance use disorder providers. This week, HRSA hosted more than 800 rural community leaders working at the grassroots level to build their communities' capacity to turn the tide of the opioid epidemic.

WHAT'S THE IMPACT?

HRSA's awards are meant to empower rural awardees to address unique needs and challenges on a local level. Funding will support rural community activities, such as mobile units providing MOUD (medication for opioid use disorder) and integration of MOUD prescribing and support into rural primary care settings.

Funding also will support rural recovery services, such as facilitating supportive employment opportunities for people in recovery. Applicants are able to integrate supportive services – such as food access, housing support and employment training and opportunities and other social determinants of health – in their grant proposals.

Notably, funding can support transportation to facilitate access to treatment and recovery-related appointments, and HHS noted that transportation is often a significant barrier to access in rural communities.

Applicants also may use funding to expand their rural substance use disorder workforce, including clinical providers and peer-support professionals who help people find and sustain a path to recovery. Average awards are expected to be up to $750,000 per year over four years.

Applications will be accepted through May 6.

THE LARGER TREND

According to a December report from the Department of Health and Human Services, Medicare beneficiaries aren't getting the treatments they need for opioid use disorder, and many are dying due to fentanyl, with fewer than one in five enrollees receiving medication to treat their disorder.

The department's Office of the Inspector General found that at least 52,000 Medicare enrollees experienced an opioid overdose in 2022, though the exact number is likely higher, since many beneficiaries didn't receive the medical care that was billed to Medicare.

Opioid-related overdose deaths remain near all-time highs. In 2022, there were an estimated 83,827 opioid-related overdose deaths in the U.S., according to OIG's internal data. Most of these deaths involved synthetic opioids such as illicit fentanyl.

HHS, through its Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, awarded almost $48 million in grants in July to combat multiple facets of substance misuse and the nation's opioid epidemic. 

The grant awards are part of ongoing federal efforts in prevention, treatment, recovery support and harm reduction – the pillars of the HHS Overdose Prevention Strategy. The Overdose Prevention Strategy is meant to advance the Biden administration's National Drug Control Strategy, which delivers on the call to action in President Biden's Unity Agenda for a whole-of-government approach to beat the overdose epidemic.

That isn't the first time HHS has allocated grant funding to programs geared toward addressing the opioid crisis. In September 2022, HHS awarded more than $1.6 billion in investments for communities throughout the country to address the addiction and overdose crisis.

Jeff Lagasse is editor of Healthcare Finance News.
Email: jlagasse@himss.org
Healthcare Finance News is a HIMSS Media publication.