The White House is calling for drastic changes to the Department of Health & Human Services. This includes not only the dismantling of SAMHSA, but the elimination of several programs aimed at SUD prevention, treatment, and recovery.
These potential changes come after Secretary Kennedy extended the National Public Health Emergency on Opioids, and the White House declared that treatment and recovery would be key aspects of their national drug control strategy.
The threats to HHS have been widely reported:
“Alan Morgan, chief executive of the National Rural Health Association, said rural residents would suffer if the health initiatives proposed for elimination were cut.”
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Among the prevention programs proposed for elimination include a program aimed at reducing Adverse Childhood Experiences or ACEs. The presence of a high ACEs score is a risk factor for developing a substance use disorder.
The proposal also calls for eliminating The STOP Act, one of the few programs directed at reducing youth alcohol use. The program was created by Congress in 2006.
The proposal suggests eliminating funding for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the Health Resources and Services Administration, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and the Administration for Community Living, along with a handful of other smaller programs.