March 23, 2023
The Honorable Tammy Baldwin
Chair
Subcommittee on Labor, HHS, Education & Related Agencies
U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Shelly Moore Capito
Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Labor, HHS, Education & Related Agencies
U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Robert Aderholt
Chair
Subcommittee on Labor, HHS, Education & Related Agencies
U.S. House Appropriations Committee
Washington, DC 20515
The Honorable Rosa DeLauro
Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Labor, HHS, Education & Related Agencies
U.S. House Appropriations Committee
Washington, DC 20515
Re: FY 2024 Appropriations Recommendations Related to Strengthening the Addiction Service Workforce
Dear Chair Baldwin, Ranking Member Capito, Chair Aderholt, and Ranking Member DeLauro,
The undersigned addiction, mental health, and healthcare professional organizations are writing today to urge your support for the increased funding of important addiction prevention, treatment, harm reduction, and recovery support programs aimed at strengthening the addiction service workforce in Fiscal Year 2024. The undersigned represent diverse organizations united around common policy goals that will lead to meaningful and comprehensive policies to reduce drug overdose deaths.
While we are grateful for the addiction and mental health investments contained in the recently enacted Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, more must be done. More than 43 million Americans aged 12 or over needed treatment for substance use disorder (SUD) in 2021, but only a small fraction received any form of treatment for SUD.1 Without certain strategic investments, this gap will never close, and many more lives will be lost. Critical funding is needed now, more than ever to increase the ranks of a qualified, well-trained SUD workforce and increase equitable access to evidence-based prevention, treatment, harm reduction, and recovery support services.
Building a robust SUD workforce is critical and should be a cornerstone of any federal response to the opioid overdose epidemic. In its 2017 report, the President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis stated: “Adequate resources are needed to recruit and increase the number of addiction-trained psychiatrists and other physicians, nurses, psychologists, social workers, physician assistants, and community health workers and facilitate deployment in needed regions and facilities.” The 2022 National Drug Control Strategy echoes this workforce need by repeatedly citing the need to build a well-trained SUD workforce.2 Both the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) have recognized that access to SUD treatment providers is insufficient.3 Without a larger SUD workforce, far too many people seeking remission and recovery from addiction will continue to lack access to care.
The programs detailed in our attached document of appropriations recommendations support efforts to reduce drug overdose deaths by increasing the addiction treatment workforce, bolstering prevention and harm reduction efforts that help reduce the negative health consequences of drug use, and increasing access to high-quality treatment and support services. By advancing sustainable, comprehensive public policies and expanding federal investment throughout our health care system for SUD, we will move closer to a future where all Americans living with addiction receive the high-quality care they need and deserve. To this end, as you consider how best to appropriate federal funding for FY24, the undersigned respectfully request that you incorporate the attached recommendations related to strengthening the addiction service workforce into the FY24 Labor-HHS appropriations bill.
Sincerely,
Addiction Professionals of North Carolina
American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry
American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence
American College of Emergency Physicians
American College of Medical Toxicology
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
American College of Osteopathic Emergency Physicians
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
American Osteopathic Academy of Addiction Medicine
American Psychiatric Association
American Psychological Association
American Society of Addiction Medicine
A New PATH (Parents for Addiction Treatment & Healing)
Behavioral Health Association of Providers
CADA of Northwest Louisiana
California Consortium of Addiction Programs & Professionals
Connecticut Certification Board
Faces & Voices of Recovery
International Certification & Reciprocity Consortium (IC&RC)
NAMA Recovery
National Association for Behavioral Healthcare
National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers
National Board for Certified Counselors
National Commission on Correctional Health Care
National Council for Mental Wellbeing
National Health Care for the Homeless Council
National Safety Council
Partnership to End Addiction
SMART Recovery
Shatterproof
The Kennedy Forum
Treatment Communities of America
Young People in Recovery