SEN MAGGIE HASSAN: Trump could be surrendering one of our strongest weapons in the fight against fentanyl

PROGRAMMING ALERT: Watch Sen. Maggie Hassan sermon this taxable and much connected "America's Newsroom" connected Monday, April 14.

The Trump medication precocious released an quality study declaring that illicit fentanyl ranks among the apical threats to our security. I agree. And that’s wherefore I’m alarmed that the Trump medication is poised to disregard its ain study and surrender 1 of our strongest weapons successful the combat against fentanyl: Medicaid.

My location authorities of New Hampshire and communities each crossed our state person been deed hard by the fentanyl crisis. Despite my galore beardown disagreements with President Trump, we were capable to travel unneurotic during his archetypal word connected a bipartisan ground to spell aft fentanyl traffickers. We developed a multipronged strategy which included strengthening borderline information to choke disconnected the travel of drugs, giving section instrumentality enforcement the tools that they request to support our communities, and making it easier for much radical who conflict with addiction to get treatment.

That past portion is particularly important due to the fact that the much radical who get into and enactment successful recovery, the little the request is for fentanyl. What galore radical whitethorn not recognize is that each time radical nationwide get entree to addiction attraction acknowledgment to Medicaid coverage, particularly sum offered nether what is known arsenic Medicaid Expansion. Prior to Medicaid Expansion, galore radical who suffered from addiction couldn’t get wellness insurance, fto unsocial sum for addiction treatment.  But contiguous they can.  Yet President Trump and legislature Republicans program to slash Medicaid – and gut Medicaid Expansion – successful bid to wage for taxation giveaways to billionaires and firm peculiar interests. This volition marque it harder for radical to get attraction and determination into attraction and volition lone fortify the powerfulness of the cause cartels.

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When I served arsenic politician of New Hampshire, instrumentality enforcement officers were cardinal supporters successful our effort to fortify Medicaid, due to the fact that they knew first-hand that getting radical into betterment – often acknowledgment to medication-assisted attraction for addiction, the golden modular of attraction – was a cardinal mode to chopped disconnected the request for deadly drugs.

One of my roles successful the Senate is serving arsenic the ranking subordinate of the Joint Economic Committee, which precocious published a caller study detailing the value of Medicaid successful the combat against addiction and fentanyl. Our investigation finds that astir 1 cardinal radical nationwide person medication-assisted attraction for addiction done Medicaid. And this attraction is working: the astir caller information disposable shows an astir 25 percent driblet successful overdose deaths nationwide successful 2024 compared to 2023, the largest driblet successful years. We are yet identifying the astir effectual tactics successful the combat against fentanyl and, astatine agelong last, seeing a glimmer of airy successful this dreadfully acheronian tunnel.

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But President Trump and his allies successful Congress are poised to undo that advancement by passing a fund that would wage for much taxation giveaways for billionaires by gutting Medicaid. This program would efficaciously extremity Medicaid arsenic we cognize it and marque wellness attraction unaffordable for millions of Americans. And it would permission galore radical who conflict with addiction incapable to get the assistance that they need. In the end, the nonaccomplishment of this indispensable instrumentality successful the combat against fentanyl volition marque instrumentality enforcement’s occupation adjacent harder, crook backmost the bipartisan advancement that we person made, and origin much of our chap Americans to autumn into a spiral of addiction and despair.

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Fighting fentanyl shouldn’t beryllium a partisan issue. The fentanyl situation has deed reddish and bluish states alike and devastated families of each governmental stripe. The astir important occupation of authorities is keeping radical harmless – that’s wherefore I’m ever consenting to enactment crossed enactment lines and basal up to anyone, nary substance their party, successful bid to support Granite Staters and Americans safe. I person taken connected utmost voices successful some parties to fortify instrumentality enforcement, and arsenic politician I helped prosecute much constabulary officers to support our communities safe. I besides person supported bipartisan efforts to unafraid our border, efforts informed by my travels to our bluish and confederate borders and my conversations with borderline patrol and instrumentality enforcement officers connected the ground.

Some of my Republican colleagues person expressed concerns astir the efforts by the President and Republican Congressional Leadership to decimate Medicaid, and I cognize that galore Americans who enactment the President, including those successful New Hampshire, stock these concerns and privation the President to reverse course. There tin beryllium nary surrender successful the combat against fentanyl – not erstwhile tens of thousands of our chap Americans are inactive dying from overdoses each year, not successful a state arsenic large arsenic ours, not ever. Now is the clip to enactment authorities aside, perceive to instrumentality enforcement officers and the administration’s ain quality report, and travel unneurotic to support Medicaid truthful that we tin support our kids, forestall fentanyl trafficking, and get much Americans with addiction connected the roadworthy to recovery.

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