NSC Says 28 States Fail to Protect Residents from Opioid Crisis
A new report says only four states are making notable progress
A new report from the NSC says 28 states are failing to protect their residents from opioid overdoses by lacking a comprehensive plan. Only four states—Kentucky, New Mexico, Tennessee and Vermont—were assigned a “Making Progress” rating in the study, titled “Prescription Nation.”
The report follows up an analysis by the NSC showing preventable deaths are at an all-time high, and overdoses are a major reason why.
“We are losing nearly 19,000 people every year to prescription opioid overdoses, and the cost of this epidemic is too high for states to watch from the sidelines,” said Deborah A.P. Hersman, president and CEO of the National Safety Council. “Prescription Nation provides a roadmap for saving lives, and identifies six key actions that can eliminate preventable deaths.”