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Press Briefing on Opioids meeting with Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price - YouTube
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[1]
Secretary Price:
Good afternoon.
[4]
We just have come from
an extremely productive
[7]
meeting with the President
and the First Lady
[12]
gathered to talk about
the opioid crisis.
[15]
The President and the
First Lady are absolutely
[17]
fully engaged on a tragedy
that is crossing the country.
[24]
The President understands
the magnitude of this
[26]
challenge, how devastating
it is, how it's devastated
[30]
individuals and families
and communities large and small.
[35]
He understands the effect
that it has had on our
[39]
nation, especially on
families and on children.
[43]
The numbers are absolutely
daunting -- 52,000
[46]
overdose deaths in
2015; 33,000 of those
[50]
approximately
related to opioids.
[53]
The numbers in 2016 are no
better, and the numbers in
[58]
2017 are even
worse than 2016.
[62]
So we briefed the
President on our strategy
[64]
through Health and Human
Services Department, a
[67]
strategy that includes
making certain that we
[70]
have the resources and the
information necessary for
[72]
prevention and treatment
and recovery; providing
[75]
best practices for states
and those that are engaged
[79]
in that process; making
certain that we have
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overdose reversing
medication -- naloxone and
[85]
Narcan -- as present
as needed and possible
[89]
anywhere across the
country; making certain
[92]
that we're doing the data
-- identifying the data,
[97]
the public health aspect
of it -- of this: Why is
[100]
it that 52,000 Americans
succumbed to an overdose
[104]
death in 2015 and those
numbers continue to increase?
[109]
Fourth is the research
aspect of this.
[112]
What is the NIH doing?
[114]
What can they do?
[116]
And of exciting things to
provide for, hopefully,
[119]
pain medication that is
not addictive
[121]
or is not euphoric.
[123]
One of the exciting things
that they're actually
[124]
working on is a vaccine
for addiction,
[127]
which is an incredibly
exciting prospect.
[131]
And then, finally, how
do we treat pain in this nation?
[135]
As a formerly practicing
physician -- orthopedic
[137]
surgeon -- I know that
physicians and other
[139]
providers have oftentimes
sensed that there is an
[142]
incentive to provide
narcotic medication.
[144]
And we need to do all that
we can to make certain
[146]
that, yes, people are
provided appropriate
[148]
narcotic medication when
necessary, but no
[151]
more than necessary.
[154]
We wanted to make certain
that the President
[155]
understood that it was his
entire Cabinet and the
[159]
federal government that
were involved in this process.
[161]
This is an
interdepartmental,
[162]
interagency process
that's moving forward.
[167]
We've met previously with
the Department of State,
[170]
Justice, the Department of
Homeland Security, ONDCP,
[174]
and others to make certain
that we're working
[176]
together on a
comprehensive strategy
[179]
that we're in the midst of
right now and that we will
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be presenting to the President in the near future.
[185]
At the end of all of that,
the President made certain
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that we understood that he
was absolutely committed
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to making certain that we
turn this scourge in the
[194]
right direction, turn
this tide in the right
[197]
direction; make certain
that we see the number of
[199]
overdose deaths and the
number of
[201]
individuals addicted to
medication decreased.
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And he has made certain
that we understand and
[210]
appreciate that this is an
absolute priority of his
[212]
administration, as it
has been from day one.
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One of the things that
we've done to try to bring
[218]
a voice to it and bring
faces to it is to go
[222]
around the country in
multiple states and to
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visit communities and
try to find those best
[228]
practices -- what's
working out there?
[229]
What hasn't worked?
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Talk with those families
that have been devastated
[233]
by the addiction crisis;
talk with folks who've
[237]
been addicts and
have recovered.
[240]
What is it that worked?
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And it's so uplifting and
inspiring to hear the
[244]
stories of many of
those individuals.
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One of the President's
senior counselors,
[248]
Kellyanne Conway, has
accompanied me on many of
[251]
those trips, and she was
at our meeting today, and
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I know that she wants to
say a few words, as well.
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Kellyanne.
[256]
Ms. Conway: Thank
you, Secretary Price.
[259]
And it's very nice to have
the acting Director of
[261]
ONDCP Richard Baum
with us today, as well.
[266]
The Secretary and I have
traveled to a number of
[269]
different states, and we
have heard the harrowing
[272]
and very sad stories, but
we also have increasingly
[276]
met those who have
successfully gone through
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treatment and recovery.
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We're very heartened to
learn many people who are
[283]
beating opioid epidemic,
and we recognize this is a
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polydrug problem in our
nation, that we are a
[288]
nation that consumes legal
and illegal drugs at a
[291]
very high and
alarming rate.
[293]
The problem is very
complicated, and currently
[296]
we're on the losing
side of this war.
[298]
With the President's
leadership and the First
[300]
Lady's involvement across
a spectrum of different
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cabinets and agencies and
different departments
[305]
within the West Wing, we
are confident that we can
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help those in need
across this country.
[312]
We know that this involves
public health, the medical
[315]
community, healthcare
delivery system, law
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enforcement, education,
local and statewide
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elected officials,
devastated families, and
[324]
those in treatment
and recovery.
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We have presidential
imprimatur leadership on
[329]
this issue, but we full-on
know that most of the
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great work is being done
at the state and local levels.
[334]
Those who are closest to
those in need know
[335]
best how to help them.
[337]
We didn't get here
overnight, and we know
[339]
that we can't solve the
crisis overnight either.
[342]
That said, I'd like to
bring attention to some
[345]
other areas with respect
to the opioid and
[348]
drug epidemic that
sometimes go uncovered.
[351]
With a 52.7 percent
increase in outpatient
[355]
veterans treated for
substance abuse disorders
[357]
from 1995 to 2013, it's an
increasing concern that
[362]
addiction is plaguing our
veteran community, as well.
[365]
And we're working with
Secretary Shulkin on that.
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The next generation of the
crisis is being seen in
[370]
the number of newborns
that are born addicted to
[375]
opioids and other drugs.
[376]
In fact, in this country,
now NIH estimates that
[379]
every 25 minutes a newborn
is born addicted to opioids.
[386]
We are working hard to
also stop the import of
[389]
fentanyl into this country
and to work with those
[393]
governors and health
commissioners and others
[396]
within the states who are
interested in reducing the
[399]
number of pills and days
in a prescription and also
[403]
in working with the
curriculum so that our
[406]
medical professionals are
more educated and more
[410]
conversant with and
versed in prescribing
[412]
methodologies, as well.
[415]
President Trump and the
administration are working
[417]
tirelessly toward this,
and I would just say that
[420]
having traveled this
country and studied this
[422]
issue very closely, no
state has been spared, and
[425]
no demographic group
has gone untouched.
[427]
This is not a problem of
young or old, of black or
[429]
white, of rural,
urban, or suburban.
[432]
It really has affected
all of our communities
[436]
in varying degrees.
[438]
It is also a nonpartisan
issue in search of
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bipartisan support and
bipartisan solutions, and
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we do hope that those in a
position to help with the
[446]
decision-making and
advocacy and solutions,
[449]
and those charged with
covering this issue, as
[452]
well, will agree that it
is nonpartisan in search
[455]
of bipartisan solutions.
[457]
Thank you very much.
[457]
Secretary Price: Happy to
take a question or two.
[460]
Yes.
[461]
The Press: Mr. Secretary,
a couple of questions.
[464]
Several attorneys
general, including some
[466]
Republicans, have said
manufacturers of opioids
[469]
should be sued and are
culpable, or should be
[473]
legally culpable for
parts of this crisis.
[475]
Do you agree with that?
[477]
What's the
administration's
[478]
orientation to those laws?
[479]
Secretary Price: Well,
there are a couple suits
[481]
that are out there right
now that have already begun.
[485]
I think that this gives
voice and punctuates the
[490]
damage and the harm that
people have felt
[495]
because of this crisis.
[497]
There isn't a position
that the administration
[502]
has on these suits
at this point.
[505]
But it has clearly gotten
the attention of the
[508]
pharmaceutical companies.
[510]
Some have analogized it to
the tobacco issue and the
[514]
master settlement that
occurred, I don't know, 20
[518]
years, with the
issue of tobacco.
[521]
Whether there is something
that's analogous to that,
[522]
I don't know. But it's --
[524]
The Press: Do
you see it in that light,
[525]
Mr. Secretary?
[526]
Secretary Price: Well,
what I see is that there
[527]
is -- that we continue
to move in the wrong
[529]
direction on the number of
individuals that are not
[534]
only addicted, but the
number of individuals that
[536]
are losing their
lives to addiction.
[540]
And so the President is
absolutely committed to
[542]
solving that problem, and
we are going to turn over
[545]
every single rock and
make certain that we're
[547]
identifying every single
thing that could move us
[550]
in a better direction.
[550]
The Press: Is it a
national emergency?
[553]
Secretary Price: Well,
the President certainly
[554]
believes that we will
treat it as an emergency
[558]
-- and it is an emergency.
[559]
When you have the capacity
of Yankee Stadium or
[563]
Dodger Stadium dying
every single year in this
[569]
nation, that's a crisis
that has to be given
[574]
incredible attention, and
the President is giving
[577]
it that attention.
[577]
The Press: Mr.
Secretary, thank you.
[579]
I was curious -- those of
us old enough to remember
[581]
the crack problem 20-plus
years ago,
[585]
how is this different?
[587]
And how is the approach
to deal with the opioid
[589]
problem going to
be any different?
[591]
And are we just going
through a cycle of a new
[593]
crisis every 20 years
and the public forgets?
[596]
I mean, what's
different here?
[597]
Secretary Price: Well,
it's different for a
[599]
number of reasons, not
the least of which is the
[601]
magnitude and the numbers
of individuals succumbing
[605]
to addiction and
losing their lives.
[609]
And this is relatively
recent; in the past 10 to
[614]
15 years, these numbers
have spiked up.
[617]
So the difference is that
the crack cocaine issue,
[621]
which was a terrible,
terrible issue, but it
[624]
didn't have the potency of
the medication
[626]
that exists right now.
[627]
Right now, carfentanyl and
fentanyl exist in a way
[630]
that kill individuals
with very small doses.
[631]
The cost of illicit drugs,
the cost of heroin, for
[632]
example, is significantly
lower than it has been.
[634]
So the access to these
drugs is that much greater.
[635]
So it may be cyclic in
terms of generational
[641]
engagement or involvement,
but, as Kellyanne said,
[656]
this knows no age
distribution.
[658]
It's affecting folks
young and old across all
[662]
demographics
in our society.
[665]
So we believe that it is
different if only because
[668]
of the potency of the
medication and the numbers
[671]
of individuals who
are succumbing to it.
[672]
Yes, ma'am.
[673]
The Press: Secretary
Price, thank you.
[675]
I do have a question for
Kellyanne, but first to you.
[678]
Why has the President not
officially declared the
[680]
opioid crisis a
national emergency?
[681]
And does he plan to?
[682]
Secretary Price: Well,
most national emergencies
[685]
that have been declared in
the area of public health
[687]
emergency have been
focused on a specific
[691]
area, a time-limited
problem -- either an
[694]
infectious disease or a
specific threat
[697]
to public health.
[699]
The two most recent that
come to mind are the
[701]
Zika outbreak and
Hurricane Sandy.
[704]
So we believe that, as
this point, that the
[709]
resources that we need, or
the focus that we need to
[714]
bring to bear to the
opioid crisis at this
[716]
point can be addressed
without the declaration of
[719]
an emergency, although all
things are on the table
[722]
for the President.
[724]
The Press: So it's not
imminent that he would do
[725]
that, but it's
on the table.
[726]
Secretary Price: All
things are on the table.
[728]
The Press: Okay.
[728]
And then, Ms. Kellyanne
Conway, if you'd like to
[729]
weigh in on that.
[730]
And then also, if I
can ask you about the
[731]
President's comments
on North Korea.
[733]
He said that North Korea,
if they continue their
[735]
threats, will be met with
"fire and fury like the
[737]
world has never seen." Can
you explain specifically
[740]
what he meant by
"fire and fury"?
[742]
Is that military action?
[743]
Ms. Conway: No, I can't.
[744]
I think the President's
comments were very
[747]
strong and obvious.
[748]
I know all of you
covered them live.
[750]
And I would defer to other
members of Dr. Price's
[754]
cabinet to
comment further.
[756]
The Press: And anything
you want to add to the
[757]
emergency status question?
[759]
Ms. Conway: No, because
I'll leave that to the
[762]
health professionals.
[763]
But I will tell you that
the President and the
[765]
First Lady are taking
very seriously what is an
[768]
absolute epidemic, and
they see it that way also.
[770]
We are at a
very peak level.
[774]
And one thing I should
have mentioned earlier
[776]
that is a very important
component here is
[778]
destigmatizing the use --
the misuse of substances.
[782]
We find time and again
people are just too
[785]
fearful to come forward
and admit that they have a
[787]
problem, admit it to the
people closest -- their
[789]
family members, their
friends, their colleagues.
[792]
And also, something that
we discussed with the
[794]
President and the First
Lady at length are the
[796]
different accounts that
we've heard in states, and
[799]
you can see the stories
for yourselves: "We're so
[802]
sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Jones.
[803]
We tried to save your son.
[805]
In fact, we resuscitated
him three or four times
[808]
over the last six or eight
months, but this time he
[811]
was too far gone."
[812]
And they say,
who, what, when?
[814]
They don't even know that
their son or their loved
[816]
one has had a substance
misuse disorder -- a
[819]
substance abuse disorder.
[821]
And sometimes the privacy
laws don't allow parents
[825]
of a 19-year-old, in
fact, to be notified.
[828]
So this is something of
which we're very aware also.
[832]
The Press: The President's
commission on the opioid crisis
[837]
recommended that
the President urgently,
[842]
immediately call this a
national emergency because
[846]
that frees up resources;
that lifts some of these
[848]
barriers that allows more
Medicaid recipients
[854]
to go into treatment.
[857]
Why do you feel like that
isn't something that needs
[859]
to happen right now?
[861]
I mean, was the
commission wrong on this?
[862]
Secretary Price: No,
there's an interim report
[865]
from the commission and
it's being reviewed at all
[867]
different levels
of the government.
[869]
But everything that you
just mentioned can be
[871]
done, and many of it --
much of it is being done
[875]
without the declaration of
a national emergency --
[878]
either a Stafford Act
emergency or a public
[881]
health emergency. So --
[882]
The Press: So
they've expanded to let
[883]
more Medicaid recipients
--
[885]
Secretary Price: Everything that you talked about can be done.
[886]
Now, we're talking about
what should be done, and
[891]
working through the
department and through the
[893]
other agencies that I
mentioned, to come forward
[896]
with that coherent
strategy, that
[899]
comprehensive strategy and
recommendation for the
[901]
President, and we'll
do so in short order.
[906]
The Press: Yes, just to
follow up on something
[907]
Kellyanne Conway said.
[908]
So are you looking at
changing privacy laws or
[910]
HIPAA around drug
addiction, specifically?
[913]
I guess either of
you can answer it.
[913]
Secretary Price: Yeah,
this is really an
[915]
important issue because
one of the things that
[918]
we've found when going
around the country is that
[920]
it's the local
communities, it's the
[922]
local, loving community
-- the families, the
[925]
organizations within
communities -- that are so
[929]
pivotal to providing
success for individuals
[932]
getting through the
treatment and
[935]
on to recovery.
[936]
And so it's devastating
for anybody to learn of a
[941]
family who is not able to
be notified that one of
[944]
their loved ones has had
a problem with addiction
[947]
because of privacy laws.
[948]
So we're looking through
the regulatory process to
[950]
determine what can be
done, if anything, to make
[953]
it so that those
requirements are not --
[956]
those privacy requirements
are not as onerous in the
[960]
case of an overdose.
[963]
And it certainly is
something that Congress
[966]
could address, and we'll
talking with them and have
[968]
had conversations with
many of them about that.
[970]
The Press: Speaking
of Congress, is the
[973]
healthcare bill dead?
[974]
Secretary Price: The
healthcare challenge
[976]
across this nation is
not dead, and so what we
[980]
believe needs to occur is
that the Congress needs to
[984]
address the issue in a way
that allows individuals to
[986]
gain the kind of access
to coverage and
[988]
care that they need.
[989]
Thank you all so much.
[990]
Thank you.
[991]
The Press: Do you still
want to cut
[993]
Medicaid drastically?
[994]
Because the report talks
a lot about Medicaid use.
[996]
Secretary Price: Nobody
is interested
[997]
in cutting Medicaid.
[1000]
The fact of the matter
is that the President's
[1002]
budget and the proposals
that were before Congress
[1005]
were an effort to try to
secure and make a Medicaid
[1011]
system work for patients.
[1014]
That's the goal
that we have.
[1016]
We have one-third of the
physicians in this nation
[1018]
who ought to be seeing
Medicaid patients who
[1020]
aren't seeing
Medicaid patients.
[1022]
That's a system that may
work for the federal
[1023]
government, it may work
for insurance companies,
[1025]
it may even work for
Medicaid programs, but it
[1028]
doesn't work for patients.
[1029]
The President's goal, the
President's desire, our
[1032]
focus, and our desire is
to make certain that we
[1035]
have a healthcare system
that works for patients.
[1037]
Thank you all.
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