Charleston Leader

U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS), announced $45,774,615 in funding for West Virginia from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) State Opioid Response (SOR) grant program. Since the SOR grant program's inception in 2018, Capito has secured over $200 million for West Virginia to combat the opioid epidemic.

"With help from the SOR grant program, West Virginia has made strides in the fight against opioids with education and by expanding the discussion around Substance Use Disorder and Medication Assisted Treatment," said Capito. "Recent provisional data shows a historic drop in opioid deaths in West Virginia and the SOR grant program has been crucial in this achievement. As Ranking Member of the Labor-HHS Appropriations Subcommittee, I’ve worked hard to ensure our state is eligible to receive resources necessary to combat this crisis, not just a population-based amount. This has included new solutions like the provision I authored to prioritize funds for states hardest hit by the crisis. However, this battle is not over and I will continue to fight to make sure our state has what it needs to finally overcome this crisis."

The funding amount could have been considerably less if not for language authored by Capito that ensures states most impacted by the opioid crisis receive more funding. In 2017, during a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) budget request hearing, Capito raised concerns about how funds were distributed by population size rather than need. Her language set aside 15% of funds for states with high mortality rates from opioid use.

West Virginia has utilized SOR grants for various initiatives including improving coordination across prevention and treatment activities; supporting statewide behavioral health infrastructure through county coalitions; increasing awareness that addiction is a disease; reducing stigma around medication-assisted treatment (MAT); sponsoring treatment for uninsured individuals or those whose insurance does not cover substance use disorder (SUD); expanding access to MAT at regional jails; training professionals on effective MAT practices; broadening medical school curricula; establishing Quick Response Teams (QRT); and providing after-hours transportation through the West Virginia Public Transit Authority.