top of page
logoo-2.png

America’s Agenda Looks at Labor Response to the Opioid Crisis

September 26, 2018 – David Chase, best-selling author and advocate for high-value delivery transformation, discussed the topic of his most recently released book, The Opioid Crisis Wake-Up Call: Health Care is Stealing the American Dream. Here’s How We Take it Back, for an audience of Labor leaders, employers, and health industry representatives convened by the America’s Agenda Board of Directors.

 

Chase believes American Labor is uniquely positioned to take a lead role in attacking the root drivers of the opioid addiction crisis, which like healthcare hyperinflation, wage stagnation and the erosion of funding for national priorities like public education and infrastructure investment, he maintains are rooted in a massively dysfunctional mainstream health care delivery system.

 

In February, the America’s Agenda Board of Directors hosted a presentation by Karen Grear, LICSW, Ph.D., director of the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craft Worker’s Member Assistance Program, on the Bricklayers’ pioneering program to prevent and treat opioid addiction among its membership. Citing the startling number of deaths due to opioid overdose – 310,000 since 2000 – and the latest finding that opioid overdose has become the leading cause of death for adults under 50, Dr. Grear emphasized that opioid addiction is now a major healthcare crisis in this country. The impact on American Labor has been particularly concerning, she noted, as overdose is now the leading cause of death in the construction and building trades.

Dr. Grear reported on findings that union-based prevention and addiction management programs were relatively effective compared to programs sponsored by employers and other institutional sponsors, a differential she attributed to the high degree of trust workers demonstrate toward assistance provided by their unions.    

logoo.png

America's Agenda is a national health care alliance that brings together labor unions, businesses, healthcare providers, and policymakers who share a common commitment to our mission of assuring access to affordable, high quality healthcare
for every American.

location-icon-png-4242.png
img_266091.png
msg-icon.png

1025 Connecticut Avenue, N.W. Suite 907
Washington, DC 20036

202-223-1584


info@americasagenda.org

facebook-tw.png

 

Copyright 2018.  America's Agenda: Health Care for All.

bottom of page