Mission LISA Announces Recommendations to Address Federal Funding Disparities in the Opioid Crisis

Analysis of Major Opioid Grants Shows More Populous States Get More Funding Per Victim, Leaving Smaller, More Impacted States Underfunded

News provided by

Lumina

Apr 30, 2019, 10:00 ET

TAMPA, Fla., April 30, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- State allocations of federal opioid grants are biased toward more populous states according to an analysis conducted by Mission LISA (Learning Indicators of Substance Addiction). Disparities are based on current funding formulas which only address the absolute number of people affected. To better fund the states most impacted by the crisis – regardless of size – Mission LISA recommends changing funding formulas to account for epidemic severity relative to state population.

"As a guidance to crisis mitigation efforts, Mission LISA recommends federal agencies optimize current opioid funding formulas by incorporating state prevalence as a significant factor," said Vicky Liao, Director of Mission LISA. "Smaller states are bearing the brunt of this crisis, and this updated formula would provide them the funds they need for prevention, treatment and intervention."

She added that as a result of the analysis, Mission LISA developed an optimal formula for determining funding for states which incorporates both absolute numbers of victims as well as state prevalence.

Mission LISA reviewed major opioid grants, including grants from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the Health Resources and Services Administration, and the Department of Justice, comparing 2018 state-level funding distribution with the 2017 state ranking by prevalence of opioid misuse. Results show some highly impacted states were underfunded and received funding that is disproportional to the epidemic prevalence in those states:

Delaware, Maine, New Hampshire, Maryland, and West Virginia.

Incorporating prevalence into the determination of funding for SAMHSA's State Targeted Response grant would result in an addition of approximately $108 million to at least 37 states and the District of Columbia. The top five jurisdictions to receive more funding are:

Maine, the District of Columbia, Delaware, New Hampshire, and West Virginia.

An electronic version of Mission LISA's Optimized Funding Allocation Policy Recommendation can be accessed here: https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/3833907/Mission%20LISA%20Policy%20Recommendation/Mission%20LISA%20Optimized%20Funding%20Allocation%20Policy%20Recommendation.pdf

About Mission LISA:
Mission LISA is a data aggregation initiative surrounding America's national opioid crisis. Using deep web mining and machine learning technology, Lumina Analytics is collecting, synthesizing, and analyzing massive amounts of publicly available data to provide policymakers and healthcare service providers with timely and relevant intelligence surrounding the current state of the crisis and how best to combat nationwide overdose death and addiction. This data drives production of evidence-based policy recommendations and patient-centric treatment pathways, yielding highly targeted solutions for the epidemic.

Mission LISA was launched by Lumina Analytics in 2017 to address the need for more robust and timely data surrounding the opioid crisis in America. Visit www.LuminaAnalytics.com to learn more about Mission LISA technology and data analysis. Follow Mission LISA on LinkedIn and Twitter for relevant intelligence and policy updates.

About the Mission LISA Foundation:
The Mission LISA Foundation conducts educational meetings, prepares and distributes educational materials, and considers public policy issues in an educational manner, presenting materials and information on a non-biased, non-partisan basis for wholly educational purposes regarding the nation's opioid epidemic. LISA is an acronym for Learning Indicators of Substance Addiction. Mission LISA Foundation's Advisory Board is comprised of expert physicians, researchers, academics, policy veterans, and industry professionals.

About Lumina Analytics:
Lumina is a Tampa-based risk-intelligence firm that provides data aggregation and analytics services to corporate and government clients throughout the United States. Its focus is on the aggregation of external, publicly available data for risk sensing intelligence. Lumina uses proprietary machine learning algorithms in combination with artificial intelligence to address risks within healthcare, financial services, defense, corporate, and national security. The company was founded by serial entrepreneurs Dr. Morten Middelfart (Lumina's Chief Data Scientist) and Allan Martin (Lumina's Chief Executive Officer).

CONTACT: Jill Kermes, 202-957-0715, [email protected]

SOURCE Lumina