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Study Shows Opioid Harm Reduction Reduces Deaths, Hep C, Hospitalizations
A new Department of Health and Human Services study showed 37 harm reduction agencies and programs have reduced overdose deaths, hepatitis C infections, and hospitalizations of addicted people.
The study indicated that more than 550 people were saved through the use of naloxone in 2024 and that there has been a 36 percent reduction in overdose deaths between 2023 and 2024. Michigan has given out more than 1.3 million naloxone kits and nearly 34,000 overdoses have been reversed since the launch of the Naloxone Direct Portal.
“These are not just statistics. They are our neighbors, our family members and our friends,” said DHHS Chief Medical Executive Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian.
More than 13,000 hospitalizations were prevented because of injection drug use between 2018 and 2024. About 13,200 emergency room visits were prevented between 2018 and 2023.
More than 4,000 cases of hepatitis C were prevented between 2018 and 2024 through the use of syringe service programs. The programs have also prevented the spread of HIV and other infections passing through the blood, Bagdasarian said.
DHHS data attributed these to the 100 harm reduction locations run by 37 different harm reduction agencies that are maintained across the state, up from 29 in 2019. The centers conduct needle programs and offer substance use disorder treatment and referrals.
“Harm reduction agencies are making a measurable, life-saving impact across Michigan, and DHHS remains deeply committed to supporting these agencies and the communities they serve,” Bagdasarian said.
Harm reduction programs, including needle exchanges, free naloxone, infectious disease testing, and substance use disorder treatment, have been funded by money from the settlement with three pharmacies and Johnson and Johnson. The state is expected to collect $1.6 billion by 2040, with half going to the state fund and half going to local governments.
“Harm reduction is a key component of our opioid response in Michigan, and it is working. According to the most recent year of data, Michigan ranked in the top five states in the country for the greatest reduction in overdose deaths,” said DHHS Director Elizabeth Hertel.
Stop The Bleed, Related Bills Pass House
Policy bills the House passed recently, separate from budget discussions, included “stop the bleed,” which refers to a policy under which an individual intervenes in a life-threatening situation to perform bleeding control like application tourniquets or bandages wouldn’t be able to be held liable for any complications or damages.
Under HB 4108 , the Good Samaritan Act would include bystanders who act in good faith and under no obligation to attempt a lifesaving bleeding control technique. If the person is shown to have acted with gross negligence or willful misconduct, they would not be subject to the same civil protections.
“Emergencies happen every day. A car crash on the road, an accident on the job or a serious injury at home can all become life-threatening in a matter of minutes. In many of these cases, uncontrolled bleeding is the difference between life and death. With the right training and tools, a bystander can save a life before professional help arrives,” Rep. Mike Harris (R-Clarkston) said in a floor speech.
Other bills in the package include HB 4107 , which requires health education standards to teach first aid response for grades 7–12 and HB 4847 , which requires health clubs to have automated external defibrillators (AEDs) on their property and someone who is trained in how to use it during its hours of operation. HB 4107 passed 96-3, and HB 4108 and HB 4847 passed 99-0.
Rep. Rachelle Smit (R-Shelbyville)’s HB 4736 has the county party’s executive committee choose a replacement for the ballot when a partisan county commission candidate dies between the primary and general elections. The bill passed, 78-21.
Budget Spat Could Delay Medical Procedures
Michigan state policymakers have been a “little too preoccupied” on the federal budget discussions when crafting the state’s spending plan for Fiscal Year 2026, according to one social service organization head, who has seen a state budget process or two in her day.
It’s time to come to get around the table, negotiate and come together on the programs important to people, said Amy Zaagman, executive director of Michigan Council for Maternal and Child Health, who has more than 25 years in Lansing as a legislative staffer and official with MCMCH and the mental health boards under her belt.
She said during a reporter roundtable last month that clearly a lot of state funding is dependent on what happens in Washington D.C. “but we need to take that in stride and should still be moving forward.”
Also, she understands that schools are concerned about when they can expect their state aid payments, but “schools are not the only entity that’s highly dependent” on state money.
“Health care providers are highly dependent on the flow of Medicaid funding from the state,” Zaagman said. “We could see procedures delayed. That type of thing will start to happen very quickly before the 20th of October.
“The reality is that there’s a lot of people pointing fingers at who’s to blame for the hold up. I’m not alone in saying, ‘I’m sick of it.’ Let’s decide what you all can come together on and get it done.”
Health care, child care, food security and state workforce data are at risk as the state budget remains unresolved and the Oct. 1 start of the next fiscal year draws near, Zaagman and other social service advocates said today at a roundtable.
Advocates for social services said Senate Democrats “definitely prioritized” public health in their budget by investing in Medicaid and expanding RX kids. The same couldn’t be said about the House Republican budget proposal.
Whitmer Signs Executive Directive To Provide COVID-19 Vaccines
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive directive last month ordering the state’s departments to make sure COVID-19 vaccines were available and covered by insurance amid concerns about the availability of vaccines under U.S. Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr.
A release from the Office of the Governor cited the upcoming COVID-19 and flu season as the reasons for signing the Executive Directive. The order specifically talks about the Department of Insurance and Financial Services, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs.
“Today’s executive directive ensures Michiganders can get the COVID-19 vaccine. According to medical experts, vaccines remain the most effective way to stay healthy. I’m committed to providing Michiganders with the best options for their families,” Whitmer said.
The order asks for pharmacists, healthcare providers and the public to get clear and accessible guidance, instruct pharmacists and healthcare providers to encourage the COVID-19 vaccines, remove any barriers to vaccine access in the state and ensure the vaccines are covered by state Medicaid and insurance.
The Office of the Governor cited “prior guidance” which was changed at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention prior to Kennedy being put in charge of the health department.
In Michigan, 12.5 percent of Michiganders have taken the 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine and 25.8 percent have taken the 2024-2025 influenza vaccine, according to the MDHHS seasonal respiratory virus dashboard as of Sept. 11.
MDHHS Chief Medical Executive Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian said vaccinations are important for the health and safety of the state.
“Protecting ourselves from cold, flu, and COVID-19 also protects our loved ones, our hospitals, healthcare workers, and so many more. With this executive directive, we’re connecting Michiganders with trusted resources from medical experts and helping more families get the safe and effective flu and COVID-19 vaccines,” Bagdasarian said.
Study Finds Michigan Struggling To Fill Opioid Addiction Relief Prescriptions
LANSING – A third of telemedicine patients with opioid use disorder in Michigan had to go without their recovery medication because of trouble filling prescriptions at a pharmacy, according to a recent study.
Patients were most likely to say they had to forgo buprenorphine, a medication that helps people recovering from opioid addiction avoid withdrawal symptoms, reduce cravings and prevent them from using opioids again.
The study surveyed 600 telemedicine patients across five states: Florida, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio and Texas. In Michigan, 36.9% of patients said they had to go without buprenorphine.
In many states, buprenorphine is in stock at pharmacies only about half of the time, and roughly one in five pharmacies are unwilling to order it, said Lucas Hill, a coauthor of the study.
“Even needing to wait until a day or two for the pharmacy to order the medication – if that leads to a gap, that person is likely to experience really uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms and be triggered to use a dangerous illegal drug,” said Hill, a pharmacist and an associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh.
About one-quarter of patients in the overall study said they had to go without buprenorphine for seven or more days.
The most common reason patients couldn’t get medication was because it wasn’t in stock, according to the study published in the medical journal JAMA Network.
Reasons include federal limits imposed on pharmacies in ordering controlled substances such as buprenorphine, he said.
Stigmatization surrounding buprenorphine and the patients who use it also plays a role in accessibility. Those regulations are an easy excuse for pharmacists not to order or supply buprenorphine in the first place, he said.
“It’s easy for them to blame it on those regulatory or financial concerns,” Hill said.
At the national level, other states face similar challenges to Michigan’s, said Marlene LIRA, the lead author of the study. She is an epidemiologist and senior director of research at WorkIt Health, a multistate telehealth provider of treatment for opioid use disorder.
The federal regulations that are unintentionally creating problems were put in place in response to the opioid public health crisis, she said.
“The idea was pharmacies should be limited and should be provided oversight so we don’t have that same large-scale prescribing of controlled substances again,” said Lira. “And this sounds like a very noble cause – however the issue is that buprenorphine is a controlled substance.”
Michigan has been disproportionately negatively affected by the opioid public health crisis in comparison to other states, said Cara Poland, the chair of the state’s opioid advisory commission and an associate professor in the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine.
“Every six hours in Michigan, someone dies of an opioid overdose,” she said.
Over the last year, however, deaths from opioid overdoses in Michigan have decreased, due in part to naloxone distribution led by the state Department of Health and Human Services. Naloxone, a brand name for Narcan, is a life-saving medication that reverses an opioid overdose.
“We’ve seen a 37% reduction in opioid overdose deaths, putting us as one of the leading states in reducing the opioid death rate,” Poland said.
That’s why accessibility to buprenorphine is so important, because it significantly helps patients with opioid use disorder receive treatment while they go through recovery, she said.
Poland said she has helped develop bills in the Legislature to address the problem, she said.
One of the bills would require pharmacists to fill a prescription without undue delay and another would eliminate preauthorization for recovery medications, she said. Both passed the Senate and are awaiting action in the House Insurance Committee.
Sponsors include Democratic Sens. Sylvia Santana (D-Detroit), Sam Singh (D-East Lansing) and Kevin Hertel (D-St. Clair Shores).
Poland said, “If we want to further impact the death rate, we need to ensure that medications are available to people when they want them and when they need them in a timely manner.”
(Contributed by Capital News Service correspondent Clara Lincolnhol).