In November 2021, the CDC released provisional data showing that the U.S. had surpassed 100,000 drug overdose deaths in a 12-month period. At the same time, federal spending on opioid-related programs has been at an all-time high, with approximately $6.6 billion appropriated in FY2022, and significantly greater expenditures through the Medicaid and Medicare programs. With treatment options still out of reach for many Americans and overdoses from fentanyl and synthetic opioids climbing, policymakers remain unsure whether recent investments in opioid-related programs are having an impact.

Please join BPC on Monday, May 2 from 1-2 p.m. ET for a discussion on new recommendations focused on optimizing federal spending and improving the federal response to the opioid epidemic.

Featured Participants

Introduction from:

Bill Hoagland • Senior Vice President, BPC

Congressional remarks from:

Sen. Joe Manchin • U.S. Senator, West Virginia

Keynote remarks from:

Rahul Gupta, MD, MPH • Director, Office of National Drug Control Policy

Panel discussion with:

Jerome Adams, MD • 20th U.S. Surgeon General; Former State Health Commissioner, Indiana; Presidential Fellow, Executive Director of Purdue University's Equity Initiatives, and Distinguished Professor of Practice

Patrice Harris, MD, MA • CEO, eMed; Former President, American Medical Association

Donna E. Shalala • Former Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Former U.S. Representative; Former President, University of Miami

Moderated by:

Karen Scott, MD, MPH • President, Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts

Combating the Opioid Crisis With Smarter Federal Spending