Deputy Secretary for Behavioral Health & Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Kody H. Kinsley from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services will testify Tuesday, Jan. 14 at 10 a.m. at the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations on “A Public Health Emergency: State Efforts to Curb the Opioid Crisis.” North Carolina was invited by lawmakers to share how the state is using federal funds to promote opioid treatment and recovery efforts. Officials from Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and West Virginia will also testify.
In 2016, North Carolina had one of the highest opioid overdose death rates in the nation and was one of the top eight states for fentanyl overdose deaths. In response, state and community partners created the NC Opioid Action Plan, which has resulted in a decrease in unintentional opioid-related overdose deaths for the first time in five years and a 24 percent decrease in opioid dispensing. In 2019, the state released the NC Opioid Action Plan 2.0 to build on this progress and focus on prevention, treatment and harm reduction.
| What: | U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations — “A Public Health Emergency: State Efforts to Curb the Opioid Crisis” |
| Who: | Kody H. Kinsley, Deputy Secretary for Behavioral Health & IDD |
| When: | Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2020 10 a.m. |
| Where: |
John D. Dingell Room, 2123 |