With the state expecting hundreds of millions of dollars from opioid settlements, the Maryland Department of Health is accepting funding applications for local prevention programs.
The department put out a request for applications on Thursday in search of programs to address the damage done by the opioid crisis, which spawned state settlements with pharmaceutical companies that are expected to total more than half a billion dollars in payouts.
Organizations can apply for up to $1 million each, according to a Thursday news release.
“As health leaders, we are responsible for ensuring that the people and communities struggling with opioids have the resources they need," said Health Secretary Dr. Laura Herrera Scott in a statement. "Through this RFA we will identify high-need organizations, and fund effective, evidence-based programs to maximize our impact."
The department will award applicants two years' worth of funding, with one additional year possible based on funding availability.
It is looking for programs that provide the following services:
- Naloxone or other FDA-approved drugs to reverse opioid overdoses
- Medication-assisted treatment distribution and other opioid-related treatment
- Pregnant and postpartum women
- Expansion of treatment for neonatal abstinence syndrome
- Expansion of warm hand-off programs and recovery services
- Treatment for the incarcerated population
- Prevention programs
- Expansion of syringe services programs
So far, Maryland has received $84.1 million from settlements with opioid-related companies, according to an analysis by KFF Health News, and the state expects an estimated $311.2 million in payouts over the next 18 years.
With the state’s announcement of a $238 million settlement with Walmart, Walgreens, Teva and Allergan in February, Maryland’s total payout exceeds half a billion dollars.
Baltimore, the epicenter of the overdose crisis, opted out of all state settlements except for the Walmart litigation. The city is therefore ineligible to receive funds from the state's coffers.
However, during a state Opioid Restitution Fund Advisory Council meeting in late May, council member Brian Edmunds said "organizations and other entities within the city" are still able to receive funding.
Those wishing to submit applications can do so on the state website until July 26.
The funding opportunities come as Maryland sees some respite from an unprecedented overdose crisis, but drug users are still dying at alarming rates.
There were 2,413 overdose deaths in the state in the 12-month period ending February 24, a 5.4% decrease from the year prior, according to the state Office of Overdose Response.
Baltimore, meanwhile, has seen an uptick in deaths. There were 1,025 fatal overdoses in the city during that period, a 5% increase.
With a fatal overdose rate of 175 deaths per 100,000 people, the city has the highest death rate of any city in the nation.
Logan Hullinger is a Baltimore-based independent journalist. He can be reached by email at logan.hullinger@mobtownmag.com or on Twitter @loganhullinger.
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