Assemblyman Al Stirpe (D-Cicero) announced that he helped pass the 2018-19 state budget, which includes critical investments to combat the opioid epidemic, make health care more affordable and help ensure seniors can stay in their homes.

“Combating the opioid epidemic starts with recognizing that addiction is a disease and that this crisis needs to be addressed as a public health emergency,” Stirpe said. “That means raising awareness and expanding access to treatment programs, so people can get the help they need when they need it and start rebuilding their lives.”

The state budget allocates nearly $250 million in funding to address the heroin and opioid epidemic. The budget increases support for the state Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) by $26 million to improve educational and awareness campaigns, prevention, treatment and recovery programs and residential service opportunities. Further, the funding will provide for family support and peer navigators, recovery clubhouses and community coalitions.

Additionally, the budget establishes a $100 million Opioid Stewardship Fund supported by a fee paid by manufacturers and distributors registered to sell and/or distribute opioids in the state. The fund is a partnership with the pharmaceutical industry to hold prescription drug manufacturers accountable for their role in causing this crisis by helping fund prevention, treatment and recovery programs for individuals with substance use disorder, noted Stirpe.

In addition the budget protects affordable health care by providing:

• $17.4 million for prescriber prevails provisions, which ensure patients and their doctors have the final say in choosing medication in managed care and fee-for-service plans;
• $11.28 million to protect coverage for over-the-counter (OTC) drugs and limit OTC co-payment increases.
• $525 million in health transformation capital funding; and
• $92 million in restored funds for SUNY hospitals.

“Our health is all too often something we take for granted until we need care,” said Stirpe. “Here in Central New York, we’re lucky to have top-notch facilities, but we need to make sure we’re investing in and updating these hospitals so that they never need to turn a patient away.”

Stirpe has been an outspoken advocate for improving health care access to ensure that every New Yorker can receive high-quality help when they need it, just as he had. Stirpe has voted to establish a single-payer health care system in New York to ensure cost is never a barrier to protecting our health (A.4738).

To help ensure spouses don’t lose their life savings if their partner needs nursing home care, the state budget restores $7.81 million to preserve spousal refusal. Additionally, the budget restores $25.82 million to protect Managed Long Term Care (MLTC) and adult day health care transportation services and allocates $8.16 million to support long-term care. The budget also protects hospitals and nursing homes by restoring $13.99 million in proposed cuts.