Drops in Overdose Deaths Should Be Celebrated, but the Fight Must Continue

Drops in overdose deaths should be celebrated, but the fight must continue

West Virginia’s deadly substance abuse epidemic has become significantly less so lately. According to the National Center for Health Statistics through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there has been a 43.5% decrease in overdose deaths in the state…

Congress’ proposed Medicaid cuts would undo historic progress reducing overdose deaths

Provisional data shows that overdose deaths in West Virginia declined by an astonishing 43.5% in the last year. Nationally, overdose deaths fell 27% over the same period, the largest one-year decline ever. While researchers are still analyzing the data, declines…

How Proposed Cuts to Medicaid Are Likely to Reverse Positive Trend in Overdose Deaths

Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that the number of overdose deaths across the U.S. decreased almost 27% in 2024. While overdose deaths remain unacceptably high, the announcement follows a promising trend that began in 2023 and that responds to a wide set of interventions, championed by both Democrats and Republicans, focused on increased availability of substance use disorder (SUD) prevention and treatme…