WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded $1,234,016 to the Maine Department of Health and Human Services to help advance interventions for preventing prescription drug overdoses. 

“The heroin and opioid abuse epidemic in Maine and across the country is devastating far too many families,” Senators Collins and King said in a joint statement.  “This significant investment will help address this crisis by improving the state’s ability to monitor inappropriate prescribing patterns and supporting overdose prevention efforts.  We remain committed to working with our partners at the federal level to seek every possible solution to this troubling, nationwide crisis.”               

The grant was awarded through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Prescription Drug Overdose: Prevention for States program.  The program provides states with the resources to maximize prescription drug monitoring programs; promote community and insurer health system interventions; increase policy evaluations to ensure these initiatives are effective; and implement projects to advance innovative prevention methods. 

Currently, 29 states receive funding under the Prescription Drug Overdose: Prevention for States program.  More information about the CDC’s program can be found HERE.

Last week, the Senate passed the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA), cosponsored by Senators Collins and King, which will provide a comprehensive, evidence-based approach to help Americans combat the heroin and opioid epidemic devastating communities in Maine and across the country.

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