On Thursday, April 18, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar II sanctioned more than $350 million in a federal move aimed at bringing down opioid addiction deaths by 40% over the next three years.
The funds will be distributed as grant awards to a university or medical center in each state, including The University of Kentucky, Boston Medical Center, Columbia University in New York, and Ohio State University in Columbus. Ohio State and its partners will receive $65.9 million, of which the first installment amounts to $13 million. Ohio State University will lead a consortium of academic, state and community partners to reduce overdose deaths. The study will cover 19 Ohio counties, including Greene and Darke counties. The University of Kentucky will receive $87 million, the largest grant it has ever been awarded, to combat the state's opioid epidemic. Boston Medical Center will get $89 million to take part in the nationwide project. The funds will allow the Center to better plan treatment options for specific communities. The Illinois Department of Human Services, IDHS, reported that the state will get $15 million, in addition to the 2016's $82 million federal funding, from the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services.
U.S. District Judge Dan Polster overlooks more than 600 opioid lawsuits filed by various government entities, all blaming the manufacturers and distributors for the national crisis.
