USC Researcher Among A Few Selected To Testify In Congress About Opioid Epidemic

Columbia, SC (WOLO)– Dr. Christina Andrews is in the middle of a five-year study looking at how the Affordable Care Act gave people access to substance abuse treatment, which she said is a key for tackling the Opioid problem our country is facing.  

“So, it’s going to be really important for the country to continue to put resources into addressing the problem, both in terms of preventing opioid use disorders among people who don’t currently have one, as well as extending treatment to those who do,” Dr. Andrews said.  She said many factors contribute to the Opioid problem, which is why she says we need to increase the public’s awareness of this disease and really tackle prevention to ensure the country doesn’t continue on this path.  

“It must be a multifaceted approach.  We need resources to buy naloxone , because naloxone can save somebody  who’s experiencing an overdose ….dying. We need resources for medications like buprenorphine ” Dr. Andrews said. In Dr. Andrews research, she says 60 million Americans had increased medical coverage for Opioid use disorder under the Affordable care act. She says that is something they need to consider going forward when looking at health care.

“To expand access to those medications and also to continue to increase insurance coverage and financial access to those drugs so cost will not be a barrier to people who really need it,” Dr. Andrews said.  Dr. Andrews said of those who are addicted to opioids, only 10 percent receive treatment. According to her testimony in front of Congress, Dr. Andrews said the opioid epidemic is not only taking lives, but also severely impacting our economy with the cost of employees struggling with opioid use disorder.

“We have the tools to solve these problems. We need to put the resources to getting them out to everyone who needs them,” Dr. Andrews said. When asked what is next when it comes to the Opioid epidemic, Dr. Andrews said she does not think it will be slowing down anytime soon, unless Congress can take a federal step towards a solution because she said this problem is so big, no one community can fight this.