�Թϲ�����

President Trump will order his health secretary to declare the opioid crisis a public health emergency Thursday — but will stop short of declaring a more sweeping state of national emergency, aides said. In an address from the White House, Trump will also try to rally the nation to a growing epidemic that claimed 64,000 American lives last year, and will advocate for a sustained national effort to end to the addiction crisis. (Korte, 10/26)

President Trump plans to declare Thursday afternoon that the opioid crisis — which is killing more than 100 people each day — is a public health emergency. By doing so, the federal government will waive some regulations, give states more flexibility in how they use federal funds and expand the use of telemedicine treatment, according to senior administration officials who briefed reporters on Thursday morning. (Johnson, 8/26)

President Trump will instruct the Department of Health and Human Services to declare the opioid crisis a public health emergency, the administration said Thursday. It is a major step in combating the drug epidemic and a major follow-through on a longstanding presidential promise. But White House officials were quick to caution that the administration’s response won’t end with the declaration, within a number of new rules and actions expected to be issued in the coming weeks. As of Thursday: What does the emergency declaration entail? (Facher, 10/26)

Beginning in August, the president has said repeatedly he would declare the crisis a 'national emergency,' though a public health emergency stops just short of that in terms of the sweeping powers granted to the federal government's response. (Faulders and Mallin, 10/26)

Administration officials said they felt that a public health emergency is a better use of resources. The announcement has been months in the making but will stop short of declaring a presidential emergency under the Stafford Act or National Emergencies Act — which the administration's opioid commission had previously recommended. (Weixel, 10/26)

Senate Democrats introduced a bill on Wednesday to invest $45 billion to fight the opioid epidemic, just a day before President Trump is slated to announce how his administration will combat the crisis. “The Trump administration’s plan to address the opioid epidemic has been little more than empty words and broken promises,” Sen. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) said in a press release. “What we need to fight this scourge is continued and reliable long-term investments in prevention, treatment, recovery and monitoring.” (Roubein, 10/25)

Senate Democrats are calling on President Trump to allow the government to negotiate lower prices for a drug that reverses opioid overdoses. The cost of Evzio, the Democrats say, has increased from $690 in 2015 to $4,500 for a two-pack today as the opioid crisis has grown. (Hellmann, 10/25)