PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Christine Khaikin, Senior Health Policy Attorney at Legal Action Center
1:54:43
ยท
175 sec
Christine Khaikin from the Legal Action Center commends New York City's use of opioid settlement funds for expanding critical programs but calls for greater transparency in fund allocation and spending. She emphasizes the need for a public-facing spending dashboard to monitor fund distribution effectively.
- Highlights the importance of using settlement funds for proven programs like overdose prevention centers and syringe service providers
- Expresses concern about limited information on fund allocation, particularly in high-need communities and among Black and Latine individuals
- Supports the council's efforts for more detailed reporting and monitoring of settlement fund spending
Christine Khaikin
1:54:43
Thank you so much.
1:54:44
Actually, that was perfect.
1:54:45
Thank you to the council committee on mental health disabilities and addiction and to the committee on hospitals for holding this hearing and the opportunity to speak.
1:54:53
My name is Christine Kykin, and I am a senior health policy attorney at the Legal Action Center, a law and policy organization that has been working for 50 years to achieve equitable, accessible, and affordable services for people with substance use disorders and people who use drugs.
1:55:09
As advocates in this field, we've been fighting to ensure that dollars collected from opioid manufacturers, distributors, and pharmacies in the lawsuits actually are used to address the overwhelming public health emergency of the overdose crisis.
1:55:23
There are many examples across the country and right here in New York State of funds being used inappropriately to buy police cruisers or for punitive abstinence only, programs or, even to sit in bank accounts collecting interest.
1:55:39
That is why we and so many organizations have been working to monitor where these funds go and push decision makers to use the money to save lives now.
1:55:47
We've been gratified to see some of New York City's 1,000,000 of dollars in settlement funds be used to expand critical programming that has shown to work, like the nation's first two overdose prevention centers and expanding syringe service providers programming.
1:56:01
Both of these are proven to work and desperately need funding, especially during this new federal political climate.
1:56:08
Additionally, funding that supports connection to care for people who want it in emergency departments and for birthing and postpartum individuals who need care, all these are all really important places to spend the money.
1:56:18
And we commend all the efforts, discussed today, by DOHMH and health and hospitals.
1:56:24
However, we wanna join the voices of those who have been concerned that this information information is too limited to fully and accurately understand where the money is going.
1:56:34
Broad stroke summaries of programs available to the public so far aren't enough and leave open questions of whether any of these funds are going places not included in reporting.
1:56:42
And it's also impossible to evaluate whether these settlement funds are being targeted to communities that need it most, like the Bronx where the overdose rate is more than twice that of Manhattan.
1:56:53
Black and Latine individuals are deeply suffering from this crisis, but there's little to no way to evaluate or if they are receiving the bulk of these funds.
1:57:01
Information about the CBOs receiving funds and implementing programs is similarly unavailable.
1:57:07
And so without transparency, it makes it hard also for the state's advisory board to coordinate spending to avoid inefficient overlaps or to send money where they can bolster spending if needed.
1:57:17
The most effective way to do this is to create public facing spending dashboard that is regularly updated to allow real or real time monitoring.
1:57:25
We applaud the council for passing legislation to require more reporting about the spending and for holding this hearing today to get more information, and we support efforts to follow the trail of these dollars to sure to ensure they go where they're needed.
1:57:37
Thank you so much.