By Skyler Baldwin | Many South Carolina residents don’t have access to effective treatments for opioid use disorder (OUD), according to a new 50-state analysis conducted by the Pew Research Center (Pew).
Pew analyzed several services offered at state-based opioid treatment programs (OTPs) as part of the study. It found many programs have limited to no availability of some FDA-approved medications for OUD, such as injectable naltrexone and buprenorphine. In addition, programs do not universally accept Medicaid, the largest insurer for substance-abuse treatment in the nation.
“This shows that even if people with OUD can access OTPs in their state, their Medicaid insurance may not be accepted,” the report said. “This adds more barriers to care as the only remaining option would then be for patients to pay out of pocket.”
But where South Carolina really falls behind other states, according to the report, is mental health services. Only four out of 22 programs, or roughly 18%, analyzed in Pew’s report offer mental health services as part of the program. Nationally, an average of 46.1% of programs offer mental health services. Mental health disorders are common among people with OUD, the report said.
“People try to disentangle it — say it’s only about addiction, but you have to have mental health treatment,” said Charleston resident Gil Kerlikowske, a former national drug czar for former President Barack Obama. “You need that. After the person is no longer addicted, and you want them to stay in recovery, you have to give them some mental health support.”
The study follows troubling statistics showing drug overdose deaths skyrocketed during the pandemic. South Carolina went from a predicted 1,632 deaths in 2020 to 2,008 deaths in 2021, a 23% increase, according to provisional data. Nationally, there were more than 100,000 fatalities in the 12-month period ending June 2021—a 20.6% increase over the previous 12 months.
But even before the pandemic, the outlook wasn’t good, according to U.S. District Judge Bruce Hendricks, who pioneered a drug diversion program in South Carolina.
“Opioid use disorder is affecting all walks of life, all ages and stages, races and genders,” Hendricks told the Charleston City Paper in an early 2021 report. “It’s a vice grip on people and their families.”
Skyler Baldwin is a reporter with the Charleston City Paper.
In other recent news:
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S.C. House panel discusses bills curbing speech in classrooms. The House Education Committee discussed five bills Wednesday that would restrict what public school teachers can say and teach in their classrooms — from current events, sexual orientation, gender and politics. Republican Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman warned lawmakers: “This is a dangerous path we may be going down and we’ve got to be very careful.” More: WLTX, WSPA.
S.C. House adds roads, broadband as part of $1.8B COVID relief. The South Carolina House passed Wednesday its own version of a plan to spend nearly $1.8 billion in federal COVID-19 relief money. The plan has just small differences from the version passed in the Senate earlier this week. Both chambers seek to give the Department of Transportation $450 million to replace lost gas tax revenue. The House, however, gave $100 million less to rebuilding water and sewer systems. But it also set aside $400 million to expand broadband internet and $100 million to the Office of Resilience to fight flooding and buy land in areas that frequently flood.
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Study reveals how much sea could rise in S.C. A new federal report cites recent data on sea level rise for the nation and South Carolina, revealing that the increase could imperil the coast. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says sea levels are expected to rise up to a foot across the country by 2050, with more pronounced increases along the East Coast.
SEWE (re)turns 40. Following a year lost to the pandemic and countless setbacks, challenges, hurdles and uncertainties, the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition (SEWE) is roaring towards its 40th year in downtown Charleston. First held in 1983 as a way to share a love of wildlife, art and conservation, SEWE now hosts some 500 artists, exhibitors and wildlife experts and attracts 40,000 attendees to Charleston each year. Click this link below to see a special section on SEWE in the Charleston City Paper.
S.C. leads the nation in exports of tires, passenger vehicles. The S.C. Department of Commerce’s 2021 International Trade Report, released Monday, found that the Palmetto State has 36.6% of the country’s market share of exported tires and 19.4% of its market share of exported passenger vehicles. That makes the state the top exporter of those two consumer goods. The news comes amid the state’s total exports dropping by 2% in 2021 from 2020’s total.
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