Pennsylvania already was struggling to contain another public health emergency when COVID-19 arrived and sucked all of the air out of the room and all of the money out of the Treasury. Now, the public health and economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic have worsened the original public health emergency — opioid addiction.
The state had made substantial progress against the opioid scourge over the past several years, using technology to track prescriptions, coordinating enforcement efforts with other states and federal agencies, increasing access to rehabilitation, and making the antidote naloxone readily available to anyone, without prescriptions.
Since the COVID-19 emergency declaration March 7, at least 15 drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers have closed and many others are on the verge of doing so, according to multiple witnesses Tuesday at a legislative hearing. People with substance abuse disorders who might seek treatment have not done so for fear of contracting COVID-19, and protecting against the coronavirus has driven up costs for centers that often are underfunded even for normal operations. Patients who contract COVID-19 are isolated within residential treatment centers, significantly reducing their capacity.
As of the beginning of August, no state or federal coronavirus relief funds have gone to rehabilitation centers.
Executives from several drug and alcohol treatment providers, and state Drug and Alcohol Secretary Jennifer Smith, asked lawmakers to appropriate recovery money to rehabilitation providers for the short term, and to increase Medicaid reimbursements for the long term.
Prospects appear good for a COVID-19 vaccine that would end that emergency. But there is no such prospect for drug and alcohol addiction. Lawmakers should ensure that rehabilitation centers remain healthy enough to continue dealing with the first public health emergency after the second one subsides.
