State Initiatives Will Make Unprecedented Strides in Fighting the Opioid Crisis

Governor Murphy’s “Righting the Opioid Epidemic” initiatives will lead to unprecedented and significant strides forward in addressing the crisis and setting the path to reversing the tragic trend of drug overdose deaths. NJAMHAA applauds the multi-faceted, cross-system, collaborative approach engaging government, law enforcement, providers, and affected individuals and their families in a unified strategy.

NJAMHAA is especially pleased that Governor Murphy has heard and responded to our members and other stakeholders’ call to remove prior authorization requirements for medication assisted treatment for Medicaid beneficiaries and to increase access to this type of service by requiring that it be offered in residential settings and recruiting and training primary care physicians to administer it and connect them to other resources.

By keeping families together through the provision of housing, transportation, and other assistance and also expanding the Prescription Monitoring System, as well as Operation Helping Hand to 17 counties to get individuals who commit low-level offenses into substance use treatment, the Governor’s plan is a diversified effort that holds great promise.