NEW: Republicans’ Planned Medicaid Cuts Will Devastate Fight Against Opioid Epidemic, Threatens Treatment for 19,000 Wisconsinites

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) slammed Republicans’ planned cuts to Medicaid which will devastate our country’s fight against the opioid and fentanyl epidemic and jeopardize treatment for thousands of Wisconsinites. Roughly 1 million Americans, including nearly 20,000 Wisconsinites, rely on Medicaid for their opioid addiction treatment. Earlier this month, Republicans in Congress advanced their plan to pay for tax breaks for the super wealthy by gutting up to $880 billion from Medicaid.

“Thousands of families across Wisconsin have lost a loved one to opioid addiction and fentanyl poisoning. I’m committed to fighting this crisis on every front, from treatment to prevention. Republicans’ plan to gut Medicaid and rip away lifesaving treatment from Wisconsinites battling addiction would take us a step back in this fight, all to pay for tax breaks for Wall Street and corporations,” said Senator Baldwin. “Saving lives and fighting the opioid epidemic is personal for me – my mother fought addiction. I will not allow Republicans to rip away treatment from people like my mother to fund their plan to make the super wealthy even wealthier.”

Roughly 1 million individuals – including 19,540 Wisconsinites – were able to receive medication treatment for opioid use disorder through Medicaid in 2022. Medicaid covers both counseling and service-based appointments, life-saving opioid reversal medications like Naloxone, and other addiction treatment medications. Health insurance like Medicaid is the key to accessing these highly effective medications, as treatment costs can be unaffordable for people who are uninsured. Cutting Medicaid means thousands of people will lose access to addiction treatment.

Addiction treatment has contributed to the recent decline in overdose-related deaths, but Republicans’ Medicaid cuts could stop this progress. New provisional data found a nearly 24% decline in drug overdose deaths in the United States for the 12 months ending in September 2024, compared to the previous year. These cuts will jeopardize this progress and run directly counter to the Trump Administration’s newly released drug policy priority of increasing access to addiction treatment.

Senator Baldwin is committed to delivering the resources Wisconsin needs to turn the tide on this epidemic and save lives. Among other actions, her FEND Off Fentanyl Act was signed into law last year to stem the flow of the drug from coming into the U.S. by cracking down on Chinese chemical suppliers and Mexican cartels. Senator Baldwin also wrote an annual funding bill that delivers $4.6 billion nationwide to support substance use prevention and treatment efforts.

More information on how Medicaid cuts will impact Americans with substance use disorder is available here.

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