HHS Secretary Renews Opioid Crisis Public Health Emergency Declaration

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has acted on his authority under the Public Health Service Act and renewed the public health emergency declaration addressing the nation’s opioid crisis for an additional 90 days. 

The designation will allow for the continuation of federal coordination efforts and “preserve key flexibilities that enable HHS to continue leveraging expanded authorities to conduct certain activities in response to the opioid overdose crisis,” according to a press statement from the HHS.

“Although overdose deaths are starting to decline, opioid-involved overdoses remain the leading cause of drug-related fatalities,” Kennedy said in the statement. “This Administration is going to treat this urgent crisis in American health as the national security emergency that it is. Renewing the Opioid Public Health Emergency Declaration affirms the Administration’s commitment to addressing the opioid overdose crisis and is one of many critical steps we will take to Make America Healthy Again.”

The public health emergency, first declared in 2017, in President Donald J. Trump’s first term, was set to expire on March 21, 2025. The declaration of a public health emergency provides the HHS secretary with certain authorities necessary to respond to the emergency. The department has relied on this declaration to facilitate voluntary information collections, expedite demonstration projects related to substance use disorder treatment, and expedite support for research on opioid use disorder treatments. These activities facilitate multi-level coordination across the public and private sectors alike, which ultimately will continue to save lives, according to the HHS.

While provisional data from the CDC indicate a 25.5% decrease in overdose deaths in the 12 months ending October 2024 compared with the same period in 2023, approximately 150 Americans die every day from overdoses involving illegal, synthetic opioids such as illegally made fentanyl, according to the HHS. Overdose remains the leading cause of death among Americans aged 18 to 44 years. 

“The Administration and HHS remain committed to preventing substance use initiation, reducing the number of lives lost to overdose, and helping Americans to overcome substance use disorders, achieve recovery, and live healthy lives,” according to the press statement. 

Based on a press release from the FDA.