Articles Tagged: Opioids

U.S. District Court judge rejects a $4.3 billion settlement, including Iowa’s estimated $25 million share, that would have been used for opioid abuse prevention, treatment and recovery efforts.

The Iowa Attorney General’s Office has signed an agreement with the University of Iowa Health Care to direct $3.8 million in settlement funds from opioid manufacturers and distributors. Under a new program announced Wednesday, UI Health Care providers will train more health care providers statewide to offer Medication for Addiction Treatment, or MAT, for those with opioid use disorder.

Opioid-related deaths increased by 35 percent in Iowa in 2020, following a national trend that has advocates raising the alarm about the surge. State officials reported 213 opioid-related deaths last year, up from the 157 deaths reported in 2019 and a previous high of 206 in 2017.

Iowa’s opioid strategy might be backfiring. The crackdown on pain pills by doctors and federal bureaucrats is contributing to America’s overdoses crisis.

Iowa expects to receive an estimated $25 million for abatement of the opioid epidemic if the deal is approved.

The number of opioid-related deaths in Iowa increased 35 percent in 2020, to 212. Federal and state public health officials say factors of the pandemic — including isolation and delays in accessing health care — may have accelerated the already increasing rate of opioid deaths.