Legal Action Center
11/12/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 11/12/2024 10:37
LAC Applauds Latest Recommendations from NYS' Opioid Settlement Fund Advisory Board
New York State's Opioid Settlement Fund Advisory Board (OSFAB) recently released their third year of recommendations to the Governor, and with the settlement dollars decreasing year after year, the Board is now operating with increased urgency to propose meaningful and sustainable recommendations.
Legal Action Center supports the OSFAB's call for more data and transparency from the State's Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS) to inform their guidance and the public: specifically, data on key metrics of opioid morbidity and mortality as well as reporting/outcomes data on the impact of the dollars disbursed so far must be shared.
Christine Khaikin, LAC Sr. Health Policy Attorney explains, "The 2024 OSFAB report highlighted the lack of data and transparency around the outcomes of distributing hundreds of millions of settlement dollars. Where is NYS opioid settlement money going, and is it making any difference? We need more data to fully understand the situation and how best to move forward."
The Board also recommended allocating settlement dollars to the State's Office of Drug User Health (ODUH), which LAC agrees is critical because ODUH funds harm reduction services, including syringe service providers and drug user health hubs, that are proven to reduce disease transmission and save lives.
LAC also supports the OSFAB's recommendation to pilot a program for Medicaid Reentry, which would help facilitate jail and prison health services, as well as develop critical connections to care for individuals reentering our shared communities. Given that fatal overdose rates among reentering individuals in their first two weeks post-release are 130x higher compared to the general population, a Medicaid Reentry pilot would generate truly lifesaving care connections.
Governor Hochul must respond to the Board in the next few weeks, and we call on her to accept their recommendations and advance the policies we know will reduce the harms associated with substance use and save New Yorkers' lives. NYS has the opportunity this legislative session to pass policies that prioritize equity - policies that promise to deeply impact the communities most marginalized by decades of punitive drug strategies and that reject the failed approach of discarding and hypercriminalizing Black and brown drug users.
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Media Contact:
Arianne Keegan
Director of Communications, Legal Action Center
[email protected]
(212) 243-1313
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