The U.S. senators from New Hampshire and West Virginia have introduced a bill to prioritize federal funding for states that have been hardest hit by the opioid epidemic.
It would require the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to take into account mortality rates and lack of access to treatment and services when allocating grants to states, rather than making determinations based on population size.
The bill was introduced Tuesday by New Hampshire Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan, both Democrats, and West Virginia Sens. Joe Manchin, a Democrat, and Shelley Moore Capito, a Republican.
The bill would change how federal agencies determine the grant funding for Fiscal Year 2018 to prioritize states like New Hampshire and West Virginia, which have the highest mortality rates from opioid overdoses in the nation.
