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Senate subcommittee rejects DHCS plan to move $8.4 billion in opioid settlement money to statewide naloxone purchase
Summary
The Senate Budget Subcommittee on Health and Human Services voted 2-0 to reject a Department of Health Care Services request to spend $8.4 billion from the state's opioid settlement fund on a naloxone distribution project, after members questioned shifting money away from existing harm‑reduction programs that report most naloxone reversals.
The Senate Budget Subcommittee on Health and Human Services voted to reject a Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) request to allocate $8.4 billion from the state's opioid settlement fund to a statewide Naloxone Distribution Project.
Subcommittee members said data and public testimony showed many community harm‑reduction programs were responsible for the majority of reported naloxone reversals, and they questioned moving money away from those programs. The motion to reject the DHCS expenditure authority passed 2‑0; Senators Weber Pearson and Grove Benjovar recorded “aye.” The administration said it continues to support the governor’s original budget proposal.
The subcommi…
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