About One Every Fifteen Minutes…. …

by | May 20, 2020 | Opioids

Such a sad topic for discussion, but a topic that NEEDS to be brought to light and involved more in the public discussion of the pending settlements  between pharmaceutical companies and the state of Oklahoma. As states, cities, counties and even hospitals continue to go after drug companies in court, the inclusion of infants suffering with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS).  The care for newborns with NAS is costing Medicaid, billions of $$$’s. Case numbers for NAS have quadrupled in the past few years due to the incline of the opioid crisis. 30,000 babies with the condition are born every year in the United States. Which is about 1 every 15 mins.

Just like every other section of concern that the opioid crisis has brought to light, “there are many needs, but no simple fix. Those who work with mothers in recovery fear any opioid settlement money may be spread so thin that it doesn’t benefit their children — the next generation of the crisis.” (Farmer, 2019)

Farmer, Blake. “In The Fight For Money For The Opioid Crisis, Will The Youngest Victims Be Left Out?”Kaiser Health News, 13 Dec. 2019, khn.org/news/in-the-fight-for-money-for-the-opioid-crisis-will-the-youngest-victims-be-left-out/.