Apr 29, 2024
What You Need to Know
California, disrupting the drug industry through CalRx®, is now set to purchase twin-packs of life-saving naloxone nasal spray for almost half of the current market price. Qualifying organizations in the state, including first responders, universities, and community organizations, can access the state’s naloxone supply for free.
SACRAMENTO — California’s Naloxone Distribution Project (NDP) delivers millions of naloxone kits, saving hundreds of thousands of lives. To significantly bolster this effort, Governor Newsom today announced CalRx’s Naloxone Access Initiative’s new partner – Amneal Pharmaceuticals, which has secured U.S. FDA approval of an over-the-counter (OTC) naloxone nasal spray product. This new partnership allows the state to purchase CalRx-branded OTC naloxone for $24 – almost half of the current market price.
To increase affordability and accessibility for Californians, Amneal will be providing CalRx® pricing that represents a 40% reduction compared to current prices for a twin-pack of OTC naloxone nasal spray; down to $24 per pack for the NDP. At this lower price, and with the same resources spent under the NDP, California can buy 3.2 million twin-packs of naloxone instead of the 2 million twin-packs purchased at the previous price.
What Governor Newsom Said
“California is disrupting the drug industry with CalRx — securing life-saving drugs at lower and transparent prices. As we continue the effort to bring $30 insulin to the market, the state is now set to purchase life-saving naloxone for almost half of the current market price — maximizing taxpayer dollars and saving more lives with this miracle drug.”
Why This Matters
People should not go into debt to receive lifesaving medication. California’s CalRx® Program is making medications more affordable for all Californians — including naloxone. NDP has distributed more than 4.1 million naloxone kits, resulting in more than 260,000 reported opioid overdose reversals. The CalRx® Naloxone Access Initiative will build on those efforts by making OTC naloxone nasal spray more accessible and affordable, especially for low-income, uninsured, or underinsured individuals.
Bigger Picture
Governor Newsom released the Master Plan for Tackling the Fentanyl and Opioid Crisis to support overdose prevention efforts like those announced today. Recently, Governor Newsom launched Opioids.CA.GOV, a one-stop-shop for Californians seeking resources around prevention and treatment, as well as information on how California is working to hold Big Pharma and drug-traffickers accountable in this crisis.
This announcement follows the Office of Health Care Affordability’s Board approval of a statewide health care spending target of 3% to be phased in over the next few years, a critical step in Governor Newsom’s ongoing efforts to make health care affordable and accessible for everyone.
The CalRx® Biosimilar Insulin Initiative continues to move forward to bring this lifesaving and life-sustaining drug to market as soon as possible. Following recent meetings with the US FDA, CalRx’s partner Civica has a clear path forward. California is using its market power as the 5th largest economy in the world to disrupt a billion-dollar industry to save lives and make health care and medication more affordable. More information about CalRx® can be found here.
Learn more about today’s announcement here.
Mar 29, 2024
What You Need to Know
As part of his Master Plan for Tackling the Fentanyl and Opioid Crisis, Governor Gavin Newsom provided $6 million to distribute free fentanyl test strips to curb the rising deaths resulting from fentanyl contamination.
SACRAMENTO — The Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) is expanding the Naloxone Distribution Project (NDP) to include fentanyl test strips (FTS), which can be obtained by eligible organizations throughout the state of California. FTS are used to detect the presence of fentanyl in drug samples prior to ingestion. NDP applicants will have the option to request naloxone, FTS, or both at no cost through the online application.
“California is committed to combatting the opioid and fentanyl crisis,” said DHCS Director Michelle Baass. “Fentanyl test strips are a powerful tool for effective opioid-related overdose prevention. We urge our community partners to apply for this additional tool to help us tackle this crisis.”
Why This is Important
Since DHCS created the NDP and began providing free naloxone to California communities in October 2018, the program has distributed more than 3,947,000 kits of naloxone, which have been used to reverse more than 249,000 overdoses. The NDP is part of DHCS’ broader efforts to increase access to medications for opioid use disorder, reduce unmet treatment need, and reduce opioid-related overdose deaths through the provision of prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery activities. With the addition of FTS, the NDP hopes to further reduce opioid-related overdose deaths through the early detection of fentanyl.
“The free Narcan provided by DHCS’ Naloxone Distribution Project has saved many lives in California and in Santa Clara County,” said Santa Clara County Opioid Overdose Prevention Project Coalition Lead Mira Parwiz. “We will be applying for fentanyl test strips made available by the project to add another level of protection against overdoses in our communities.”
Fentanyl in California
DHCS partners with the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) to reduce stigma and protect Californians by increasing awareness of fentanyl and opioid overdose prevention. In 2022, there were 7,385 opioid-related overdose deaths in California, up 227 percent from 2019 and largely linked to fentanyl, which is an extremely potent, synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. Illicit fentanyl can be added to other drugs to make them cheaper, more powerful, and more addictive, but the likelihood of a fatal overdose increases when fentanyl is mixed with any drug. Fentanyl has been found in many drugs, including heroin, methamphetamine, counterfeit pills, and cocaine. FTS are a form of drug testing technology that has been shown to be effective at detecting the presence of fentanyl in different drugs and drug forms (pills, powder, and injectables).
“Fentanyl test strips can be a useful addition to time-tested harm reduction strategies, such as never using alone and always carrying naloxone,” said Pike Long, Harm Reduction Specialist for CDPH.
Bigger Picture
Governor Gavin Newsom released the Master Plan for Tackling the Fentanyl and Opioid Crisis to support overdose prevention efforts. It includes ongoing investments to the NDP, distribution of FTS, grants for education, testing, recovery, and support services, and funding for opioid overdose medications for all middle and high schools in California.
Additionally, in December 2023, the Governor launched Opioids.CA.GOV, a one-stop-shop for Californians seeking resources around prevention and treatment, as well as information on how California is working to hold Big Pharma and drug traffickers accountable in this crisis.
Jan 23, 2024
The California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), in partnership with The Center at Sierra Health Foundation, is funding the expansion of Medication Units and Mobile Narcotic Treatment Programs across the state. This includes efforts to increase access to medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) for rural areas, for people who have been arrested or incarcerated, for Indigenous and Native communities, for patients without transportation, and to places that do not have a Narcotic Treatment Program (NTP) near to patients who need those services. This 18-month contract will be for up to $400,000 for Mobile Units and $1,000,000 for Mobile Narcotic Treatment Programs.
Applications are due by Monday, February 26 at 1 p.m. PST
An RFA overview webinar will be held on Tuesday, January 30 from 1 – 2 p.m. PST.
Register
Download the Request for Applications
Oct 28, 2023
The National Prescription Drug Take Back Day aims to provide a safe, convenient, and responsible means of disposing of prescription drugs, while also educating the general public about the potential for abuse of medications. Please take this opportunity to safely dispose of unwanted and expired prescription medications.
Locate a Collection Site Near You
Oct 5, 2023
SACRAMENTO — The Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) has launched the Empowering Faith Leaders in California project, in partnership with the Clinton Foundation’s Global Initiative’s Overdose Response Network, and is investing in hospital emergency departments to continue to assist Californians in need of substance use disorder (SUD) treatment and mental health treatment services.
The Empowering Faith Leaders in California project will help address the opioid overdose and addiction crisis at the local level through a collaborative learning opportunity that will empower participating religious leaders from diverse faith traditions to respond to SUDs in their communities, using evidence-informed and compassionate approaches.
“We are pleased to support this project and provide California’s faith leaders with valuable tools to help combat the opioid epidemic,” said DHCS Director Michelle Baass.
“Faith leaders have a unique ability to help foster change and shape, influence, and inform the attitudes that so often lead to inequities,” said Christian Thrasher, Chief Executive Officer of the Clinton Foundation’s Global Initiative’s Overdose Response Network. ”Changing the mindset that addiction is not a moral failing, but rather a treatable brain disease, will be key to fighting and beating this epidemic.”
WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT
Faith leaders are a trusted source of support and often provide information and guidance to individuals, households, and communities. As such, faith leaders are a vital part of the solution to confront the overdose crisis. However, without formal education on addiction and the harmful effects of stigma, many faith leaders may not engage in this work.
Additionally, DHCS announced an investment of $1.65 million to 66 hospitals ($25,000 each) with emergency departments (EDs) to provide them with resources to continue their CalBridge Behavioral Health Navigator Program through April 30, 2024.
WHY THIS MATTERS
CalBridge provides grants to EDs to expand training for behavioral health navigators so they can provide access to SUD and mental health treatment services. By sustaining the number of behavioral health navigators in EDs, people with a SUD or opioid use disorder, or who are experiencing a mental health crisis, will have access to appropriate care to address their needs. CalBridge supports all participating hospitals with access to materials, training, and technical assistance for navigators, clinicians, nurses, community health workers, and other hospital staff and stakeholders.
The latest round of awards aligns with the state’s broad strategy to build a health workforce that represents California’s diverse communities and provides people with the quality care they deserve, while addressing the shortage of health workers across California. To date, $67 million has been invested in the CalBridge program, which aims to train, diversify, and expand the workforce in EDs to address the urgent need for behavioral health patient care. CalBridge has demonstrated exceptional outcomes since 2018, with a total of 362,730 patients treated for SUDs. Of those individuals admitted for treatment, 278,872 patients were identified as having an opioid use disorder, and 112,944 patients were prescribed or administered Medication Assisted Treatment.
FAITH LEADERS MAKING A DIFFERENCE
- “Empowering faith leaders is a critical component of faith communities being able to address the growing crisis of substance use,” said Reverend Melissa Maher, Empowering Faith Leaders Program Graduate and Director, New Ministries Strategies, Texas Annual Conference United Methodist Church. “As a pastor for 15 years, I regularly sit with families who suffer in silence from the dark shadows of addiction. Candidly, they suffer in silence because the Church has often been silent (or uniformed) on the disease of addiction. This program provides the tools that faith leaders need to be agents of compassion and change.”
- “Faith leaders are integral in fighting the overdose crisis that has reached unprecedented levels in this country,” said Megan Affrunti, Senior Director of Substance Use Disorders and Recovery of the Clinton Foundation’s Global Initiative’s Overdose Response Network. “Many people turn to their faith leaders during times of crisis for guidance and hope, and when they are prepared to provide effective support, they can save lives. We know that many faith leaders aren’t taught how to respond to these issues in seminary, and our program fills this gap by training and mobilizing them to address these issues with evidence-informed and compassionate approaches.”
ABOUT EMPOWERING FAITH LEADERS IN CALIFORNIA
The Empowering Faith Leaders in California project will focus on two new California cities each year for two years and will directly engage and train cohorts of twenty faith leaders per city. The first year of the project includes the cities of San Francisco and Los Angeles. Over the next nine months of the project, the Clinton Foundation will convene faith leaders for discussions, lectures, and trainings about the overdose and addiction crisis, provide evidence-informed strategies for prevention, treatment, and recovery, and introduce faith leaders to local resources, including prevention and recovery organizations.
DHCS provided the project with $1.8 million in state funds to train and mentor faith leaders to address the opioid crisis within their faith community and in their local community. The Clinton Foundation will work with each faith leader to execute a community-based engagement project to raise awareness about addiction, reduce stigma, and share life-saving resources. This will include how to recognize and respond to an opioid overdose with naloxone and other strategies designed to help faith leaders combat the opioid crisis. Faith leaders will also join a statewide and national network of faith leaders who have participated in the project and continue to make a difference in their communities.
Sep 22, 2023
SACRAMENTO – The Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) awarded an additional $33 million to 120 nonprofit provider and tribal organizations, extending the existing behavioral health workforce Mentored Internship Program to organizations that successfully completed the first round of the program. Each entity will receive up to $500,000 to enhance and build its behavioral health substance use disorder workforce, focusing on resources that expand the prevention, treatment, and recovery workforce to support Californians with or at risk of developing an opioid use disorder.
“We are pleased to continue supporting these successful programs aimed at recruiting new workers into behavioral health settings,” said DHCS Director Michelle Baass. “The professional development of diverse students through thoughtful, mentored internships will further assist with mitigating the crisis our state is facing by providing comprehensive training to future behavioral health professionals to serve California’s many diverse communities.”
INVESTMENTS MAKING A DIFFERENCE
“Due to our intern cohort’s diversity of background, language capacity, and therapeutic specialties, we have increased our ability to provide timely individualized and culturally relevant services to our diverse range of clients’ culturally linguistic and therapeutic needs,” said Michelle Seidman, Director of Talent Acquisition at HealthRIGHT 360, which has three Mentored Internship Program programs at their San Francisco, Pasadena, and Pomona locations.
“One recent accomplishment was beginning an adolescent anger management group, led by two of our Mentored Internship Program interns who were able to adapt our adult anger management curriculum to meet the demands of an adolescent group. Our Mentored Internship Program interns also redesigned our case management and referral process to better serve our clients,” said Megan Tatum, Administrative Director of the Sierra Meadows Foundation in Clovis.
WHY THIS MATTERS
DHCS is investing in organizations in underserved and diverse communities across California. Today’s awards represent one part of DHCS’ broad strategy to expand California’s behavioral health workforce by providing practical on-the-job experience to students at multiple stages of their education.
ABOUT THE MENTORSHIP PROGRAM
The Mentored Internship Program was established in 2022 in response to various California-specific behavioral health workforce needs assessments and recommendations that revealed a shortage of professionals across the spectrum of behavioral health careers. The Mentored Internship Program aims to develop and implement an internship program to assist in the treatment and recovery of patients with substance use, mental health, or co-occurring disorders. Organizations will identify mentors for interns in various positions, such as peer recovery specialists, outreach workers, case managers, and counselors. Students in such fields as social work, public health, and psychology are encouraged to serve as interns, along with students enrolled at community colleges and four-year colleges and universities, as well as current high school students or recent high school graduates.
WHAT IS THE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE
The Mentored Internship Program grants are part of the Behavioral Health Workforce Development initiative funded by Opioid Settlement Funds. The initiative is part of DHCS’ work to expand California’s behavioral health workforce, improve access to behavioral health services across the state, and deploy resources that behavioral health employers can utilize to recruit and retain their workforce. These awards align with the state’s broad strategy to build a health workforce that represents California’s diverse communities and provides people with the quality care they deserve, while addressing the shortage of health workers across California.
Since 2021, the State of California has invested more than $197 million through the Behavioral Health Workforce Development initiative, funding 288 organizations across California to recruit, mentor, and retain behavioral health professionals, including making a significant investment in the peer workforce who offer treatment to individuals with substance use and opioid addiction.
BIGGER PICTURE
Since assuming office, Governor Gavin Newsom has dedicated more than $1 billion in funding to fight the opioid crisis by removing opioids from the streets, providing resources to California communities in need, and increasing education and awareness to prevent harm. In fiscal year 2022-23, DHCS invested more than $558 million in various opioid prevention and treatment grant activities.
