A renewed effort to address the opioid epidemic

<p>In this National Public Health Week episode, Health Affairs' Leslie Erdelack and Vabren Watts discuss the latest federal effort to address the opioid crisis.<br> <br>This week, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra <a href="https://www.phe.gov/emergency/news/healthactions/phe/Pages/opioids-7April2021.aspx">extended the declaration of the opioid crisis as a public health emergency</a>. These declarations expire every 90 days, and the agency first declared this one in 2017.<br> <br> Leslie and Vabren join <em>Health Affairs This Week</em> to examine how the drug epidemic has evolved and how the COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on mental health and social isolation have impacted it. </p><p><strong>Related Links:</strong></p><ul> <li> <a href="https://www.healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/hblog20210218.847791/full/">COVID-19 Converges With The Opioid Epidemic: Challenges For Pregnant and Postpartum Women With Opioid Use Disorder</a> (<em>Health Affairs Blog</em>)</li> <li> <a href="https://www.healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/hblog20210210.266063/full/">Responding To COVID-19: Supporting People In Recovery From Opioid Use Disorder</a> (<em>Health Affairs Blog</em>)</li> <li> <a href="https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/full/10.1377/hlthaff.2020.01251">Medicaid Expansion Increased Medications For Opioid Use Disorder Among Adults Referred By Criminal Justice Agencies</a> (<em>Health Affairs</em>)</li> <li> <a href="https://www.commonwealthfund.org/blog/2021/spike-drug-overdose-deaths-during-covid-19-pandemic-and-policy-options-move-forward">The Spike In Drug Overdose Deaths During The COVID-19 Pandemic and Policy Options To Move Forward</a> (The Commonwealth Fund)</li> <li> <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/04/07/health-202-overdose-deaths-may-have-topped-90000-2020/">The Health 202: Overdose Deaths May Have Topped 90,000 in 2020</a> (<em>The Washington Post</em>)</li> </ul><p>Subscribe: <a href="https://feeds.transistor.fm/health-affairs-this-week">RSS</a> | <a href="https://podcasts.apple