The Opioid crisis continues to wreak havoc across our country with no neighborhood, geography or demographic being spared. A haphazard approach to the addiction crisis across federal and state agencies, a healthcare system that has not addressed the diagnosis and treatment of addictive disorders and a focus on symptoms and not prevention has led us to this crisis. With the tragedy of addiction-related deaths over 100,000 a year and each one of those deaths impacting families and communities across America, a coordinated and multifactorial approach is long overdue. Limiting supply of illegal drugs, empowering local law enforcement, investing in early education and improved access to a medical system that supports long-term health and wellness are the pillars of a coordinated approach to the addiction epidemic. President Donald J. Trump is advocating for an unforgotten issue in the 2024 election: our health and healthcare. His vision to Make America Healthy Again describes a coordinated approach to our addiction crisis.
Addiction and opioid-related deaths are not a Republican or Democrat issue, it is an issue that Americans are facing. Thankfully, President Trump is up for the task. President Trump will invest in treatment services to ensure that the Miracle of Recovery happens for all. President Donald Trump made combating the addiction crisis a cornerstone of his administration and as a result, drug overdose deaths fell nationwide in 2018 to 67,367, the first decrease in nearly three decades. One of the biggest concerns for voters across the board in the 2024 election is immigration and border security. To stop the dangerous flow of illegal drugs into our country, America must secure the border. Most of the focus has been on the movement of crossings from humans and little attention on the illegal drugs that move across our border. Enforcing laws on the illegal movement of drugs, both precursors and final products, and recognizing that the supply chain starts in neighborhoods in China long before it reaches neighborhoods in America is a first step. Imposing penalties and punishment to the full extent of the law on those that promote and distribute drugs should be demanded. Coordinating federal agencies to crack down on the financial and tech companies that support and promote the distribution of drugs and declaring the addiction crisis what it is, a National Healthcare’s crisis, are all part of a coordinated response.
President Trump is the only candidate in the race who has communicated a policy platform to address this crisis. How will he do this? He has promised to secure the border, which will stop the flow of dangerous illegal drugs into our communities. Trump has laid out a plan to impose greater penalties on China for shipping fentanyl to America. On day one, President Trump will declare a public health emergency to address the opioid crisis. On top of this, he will encourage greater collaboration between state and federal agencies and law enforcement, while at the same time looking at Medicare expansion to cover the number of practicing clinics addressing this grave crisis.
Education about the risks of addiction and its signs and symptoms should be available to all Americans, it should be easy to find treatment options and community providers. Federal and state agencies alongside schools, libraries and faith-based organizations can all play a role in addiction education. Education and awareness for families and communities will pay dividends for years to come. Lessons learned from previous drug education programs can be applied to make sure an educational investment yields a measurable outcome.
Treatment resources remain underfunded and vary in type and results. Standardization of treatment and reportable treatment outcomes need to be developed and included in the transparency regulations being applied to other areas of our healthcare system. The same high standards applied to cancer or diabetes treatment and outcomes should be applied and expected from our addiction treatment centers and providers. With over $10 billion a year spent on addiction services, patients need to know what works and what doesn’t, and taxpayers should be supporting research and treatment that show long-term successful results.
President Trump’s Make America Healthy Again platform has laid out such a program. Americans deserve a coordinated and comprehensive response to our addiction crisis. A coordinated focus on supply and demand, education, treatment and the long-term management of addiction will help tackle the problem and reduce the loss and heartache seen too often in communities across the country. I am confident President Trump will address this crisis.
Dr. Fields is a Family Physician and Co-Founder of VillageMD