Washington, D.C., plans to use opioid settlement dollars to cover costs previously paid through its general budget, including about $2.3 million for the city’s Medicaid contribution, KFF reported Aug. 7.
The district’s fiscal year 2027 budget would also direct at least $5.5 million in opioid settlement funds to addiction treatment centers previously funded through the general budget.
More than 80 individuals and 30 city organizations signed a letter protesting the use of the settlement funds. Chad Jackson, chair of the district’s Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission, called the approach supplantation. This includes shifting money from one fund to another to free up dollars.
Christina Henderson, chair of the D.C. Council’s Committee on Health, and Attorney General Brian Schwalb wrote a letter to the district’s Department of Behavioral Health asking them to explain by July 31 how it determined the $2.3 million used to cover the city’s Medicaid contribution was legal. It is unclear whether the department met the deadline.
District law says money from its opioid abatement fund “shall supplement, and not supplant,” according to the report.
The budget is pending a last-step 30-day “congressional review.”
The Department of Behavioral Health said in a statement to Becker’s:
“The DC Department of Behavioral Health is committed to maintaining life-saving substance use disorder treatment services during a time of declining revenues. Council has now passed a legally-certified budget for the next fiscal year (Fiscal Year 2027) that makes the best use of all local resources, including the opioid settlement fund, to award grants to 17 community-based providers who last year treated nearly 9,800 residents for substance use disorders including 3,500 in medication-assisted treatment. The DBH remains committed to compliance with all statutory requirements governing opioid settlement funds and to maintaining open, timely communication with our partners regarding the lawful, transparent, and effective use of opioid settlement resources.”
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