President's Budget Includes $19M To Address Indiana's Drug Epidemic

INDIANAPOLIS -- The Obama administration estimates Indiana would receive about $19 million under the president’s proposal to address the prescription opioid and heroin abuse epidemic.

The president’s budget includes more than $1 billion dollars over two years to increase access to drug abuse treatment. Indiana’s piece of that proposed pie would be the 16th highest amount of any state.

National Drug Control Policy Director Michael Botticelli says the amount to each state is based in part on the severity of the problem, measured by the rate of overdose deaths. About 18 per 1,000 Hoosiers die of a drug overdose. The national average is less than 15. Botticelli says the estimated funding amounts are also based on what he calls the “treatment gap:”

“And these are the number of people seeking treatment for drug misuse issues and not able to get it, largely for inability to pay or lack of insurance coverage,” Botticelli says.

He says if the president’s proposal is approved by Congress, the final funding amount would also depend on state proposals to address the issue.