This archive report was first published on 18 September 2019.
Opinion ¶
As the opioid epidemic continues to ravage the United States, it's essential to remember the critical role that hospitals play in addressing this crisis. Between 1999 and 2017, almost 218,000 people died from overdoses connected to prescription opioids, and almost as many more died from overdoses connected to illicit opioids. The impact on our healthcare system has been staggering, with estimated health costs exceeding $216 billion since 2001.
Despite the devastating effects of the opioid epidemic, hospitals have been left to bear the brunt of the costs. They provide billions of dollars of unreimbursed care, often to patients who lack insurance or are unable to pay out-of-pocket expenses. The demands of caring for opioid-addicted patients have stretched the resources of hospitals, requiring intensive, expensive, and long-term treatment.
State and local governments are seeking compensation from the drug companies and distributors that contributed to the opioid epidemic. However, the claims of hospitals are often overlooked in these lawsuits. This is a missed opportunity to learn from the tobacco settlement of 1998, which held corporations accountable for the impact of their products on public health.
As the federal trial on the opioid epidemic begins, it's crucial that hospitals' claims are given significant attention. The allocation of $2 billion in emergency funds to states and municipalities to help fight the opioid crisis is a step in the right direction, but hospitals will receive none of these federal funds. It's time to recognize the critical role that hospitals play in addressing the opioid epidemic and to provide them with the resources they need to care for patients affected by this crisis.
John Kasich, a former governor of Ohio, and E. Gordon Gee, president of West Virginia University and chairman of the West Virginia University Health System, are founders of Citizens for Effective Opioid Treatment, a nonprofit organization working to find solutions to the opioid crisis and to provide information about the negative impact of the crisis on America's hospitals.
