discussion on the pandemic with dr. anthony fauci. and later, ben bernanke and janet yellen testify on the impact on the economy at a hearing held by the senate select subcommittee. a look at how covid-19 is affecting beneficiaries of social security. the ways and means committee will get underway at noon. q&a, john burka special edition of the magazine. >> there's a lot going on in our country. it is unsettling times for a number of americans with everything having to do with the covid crisis to the lockdown to the killing of george floyd. the presidential election. a lot of people are taking the opportunity to re-examine first

principles and try to figure out where we stand as a nation. >> what sunday night at 8:00 p.m. eastern. >> beth connelly studies opioid use prevention and thetment in her role as project director at the pew charitable trust. y, oneonnol headline on the opioid pandemic during the coronavirus pandemic, opioid overdoses are skyrocketing as covid-19 sweeps across the u.s. and the old epidemic returns. can you describe what we are seeing and what the data shows pond opioid use in the past four months? crisisthe opioid overuse has been exacerbated by covid-19. 2 million people have an opioid abuse disorder.

people are 10 actually able to receive treatment for their opioid use disorder. because of covid, people are isolated, people are not able to reach their support systems, and being alone has complicated people's ability to be connected and connect to their treatment and support systems. the numberown that of opioid overdoses has increased. we are hearing that from a number of states. host: towards the beginning of social distancing and when things were being shut down there was perhaps some hope that social distancing and the closing of borders and more enforcement might disrupt a drug supply chain for dangerous opioids. has that been the case at all or was that a misplaced hope? guest: we have been studying

att, we have been looking the treatment and availability of treatment. when a public health emergency was declared, the federal government did allow flexibility to states to increase the availability of treatment, evidence-based treatment is a key for opioid abuse disorder. time ofre is a emergency there are often increases. gotten increases after deepwater horizon, superstorm sandy, and the coronavirus is no different. the federal government allows states flexibilities in offering treatment in ways that were not offered before. methadone,mple is people use methadone to treat opioid abuse disorders, were required to go through an opioid abuse program every day to pick up their medication.

canr the flexibility people take home up to 20 days of medication, thereby not having public and interact with a practitioner or provider to receive their medication. used to have counseling and psychotherapy in person now are able to utilize this via zoom like we are doing now, over the telephone, facetime, this has created more access to treatment for people who have been impacted by opioid abuse disorder. host: are people using that access? we had a call or a month or two ack saying that -- caller month or two back saying that the group session she was going to does not work over zoom. there is nothing like walking into a room for a support group, and she was thinking about not

going to those zoom support meetings. what have you found in terms of people making use of that ability? guest: we have heard from a number of states, localities, and providers that they have been expanding their use of ,elemedicine and use of zoom and the flexibility the federal government has offered. in the seen an uptick people that are actually using these telemedicine options. when you have the ability to use telemedicine, you employment is not impacted, you don't have to worry about transportation, childcare needs are not as compounded as when you have to do on in person visit. are working with

their practices with telemedicine. there are some reports that some had to start from scratch and build it up, and others had been using telemedicine before and have been expanding their use of telemedicine to help more people. host: we are asking viewers to share their stories. as we talk to beth connoly of the pew charitable trust, studying substance abuse prevention and treatment initiatives. a special line for those who have been impacted by the opioid epidemic, (202) 748-8002. if youse (202) 748-8000 are in the eastern or central time zones. (202) 748-8001 for those who are in the mountain or a time zones. the u.s. congress has appropriated between 2.6 and $3 trillion for the coronavirus response. how much money within that is specifically targeted for

funding the opioid epidemic amid the pandemic? more than $400 bylion has been provided congress to the substance abuse and mental health services a federaltion, samsa, agency. that goes through them and is distributed to the state in order to address the opioid crisis in light of covid. host: what are some ways that money can be used? primarily for treatment, to increase treatment for opioid abuse disorder, decreasing theiers, implementing flexibility that i spoke of, and to increase treatment for people recognizing that there has been an increase in opioid overdoses. host: is there other money that

is being cut for programs that are not seeing the support amid the total focus of moving the government towards responding to the pandemic? the guardian story notes, a former director of the west virginia office of drug control policy, in the story he points to a federal health institution that shifted its focus to coronavirus, including freezing $1 billion in a research project that had been aimed at finding a less addictive pain treatment, this is his quote. "it has rob the oxygen out of the room and made the coronavirus the sole focus of what is happening. there is also fatigue about the opioid crisis. you can think of covid-19 as a hurricane whereas the opioid crisis is like global warming. it is not happening at the same speed and scale of coronavirus now."now or can -- right

governmentederal acted quickly in offering flexibility to address this issue for people needing to be social distant -- socially distant, allowing access to medication in a way they never have. there has been a goal of making sure treatment is available. this is evidence-based treatment. waynow that the best to treat opioid abuse disorder is through medication. medication has been proven to be far better at daily recovery than an abstinence-based program. there is medication to treat opioid abuse disorder, methadone the federalne, and relaxation and flexibility has seen an increase in access to treatment. host: plenty of calls for you this morning. the connolly with us until

bottom of the hour. john is up first out of new york on the line for those impacted by the opioid epidemic. john, good morning. to say i would just like that it saved my life by me not being able to get it on the streets anymore. i was forced to go through withdrawal and i have not touched anything since, thank you. host: thanks for sharing your story. beth: thank you so much. , on thath connolly aspect of the impact of coronavirus here and social distancing. beth: social distancing really has created isolation for people because they have lost some of their support systems, people who use drugs may use drugs alone and not have access to support, if they overdose. the increase in telemedicine has

helped to beef up that support system so people can access care. host: felix out of hope mills, north carolina. good morning. caller: good morning morning, how are y'all? beth: good morning. caller: i have a very specific question. i am 100%n, physically disabled and my chronic pain is around eight to 10. i have 13 vertebrae and 15 discs not including the other appendages that are messed up. theve been on opioids under eyes of competent medical personnel for 35 years with no problem. when the opioid epidemic came along when people started going to doctors instead of drug dealers, getting things that were contraindicated, they started these drug tests. that is what my specific question is. screens thate drug

are done by non-fda approved doctors, how is a person in my position supposed to challenge a test when it comes back for a substance i am allergic to and they change my medication from 60 milligrams of morphine a day to 75 milligrams of morphine when i see the doctor every 28 days. when the test comes back with a false positive i am cut off immediately. that leaves people in my position -- i am only going to tell you our position, which means we either go to the street and grab heroin, fentanyl, or contemplate suicide without proper conditions. what do we do to challenge a questionable result on the test? we don't even know about it for 20 days or so. host: thanks for the question. is that something you have studied? beth: this is not an area we studying.

i thank you for sharing this and i am sure other people will benefit from you sharing what you are feeling. to yourend talking health care community providers and other providers in your area. host: mike in union city, indiana. good morning. -- taking opioids away from people who need it and causing people to go to the streets to get what they need. you are hurting people by take a from them. some people do need them and some people do play with them. the people that need them ought to be able to get them. they should not have to go to the streets to get it. host: we get this comment a lot, how do you find that balance? beth: thank you, collar, for

your question. workingnce is around with your health care provider to ensure that you are receiving the treatment you need and there is treatment for opioid abuse disorder that a provider who has evidence-based treatment available to you is the best -- they have proven to be the best in adjusting this. having this conversation with beth connolly of the pew charitable trust. you can see the capitol building over my shoulder. i want to talk about legislation that is waiting to happen on capitol hill. you talk about the mainstreaming addiction treatment act, we show viewers a little bit about that act. beth: sure.

the mainstreaming addiction --atment act is tore are three medications treat opioid abuse disorder. in order for a doctor or nurse practitioner or physician's assistant to prescribe this drug in an office-based setting, making it easily available to those who need it, they must receive a waiver from the federal government. there is no other prescription medication that requires this type of waiver. this type of waiver creates a disincentive for doctors to obtain the waiver and not provide the treatment. provide thisng to drug to expand access to treatment we need to get rid of the waiver. this would do just that. it would eliminate the waiver and allow doctors who prescribed all kinds of drugs in their setting, in their office-based

drugng, to provide this which is safe and effective and was approved by the fda in 2002 and has been used effectively to treat opioid abuse disorder. host: how much support is there for this, is it being put on the back burner amid the coronavirus legislation and issues being tackled? beth: there is bipartisan support for this bill in the house and senate. we hope that it will keep continuing on this trajectory until it successfully passes and is signed into law. host: is there other legislation that is waiting for action in congress that you want to point out? beth: there is legislation that would allow for medicaid to be reimbursed for people who are in jails and prisons, 30 days prior to their release. this piece of legislation would

help people access treatment as they leave and reenter their communities. people that about 50% of who are in prisons or jails actually meet the criteria for substance abuse disorder. we are connecting them with medicaid in order to connect them with treatment. there is a high risk of overdose and death as people exit correctional institutions. getting them to treatment is critical to keeping them safe and alive. host: this is david from evansville, indiana. good morning. caller: this is dave, thank you for c-span. thing has madeid it difficult for people who take opioids. i have probably been on opioids for 30 years. i used to take a script to the

doctor with four or five pills left in it and say i have had these for two years and i probably need some more. anytime you get government or an expert involved or something they are going to screw things up. i just heard this lady say they used to have people come in for methadone once a day & end go through the rigmarole to get there methadone. they came up with the bright idea that they are going to give a junkie a 20 day supply and let them take it home. that does not make no sense whatsoever. the reason these people came in every day was to make sure that they were straight and weren't abusing things. you are going to give a junkie 28 day supply? most of these junkies probably don't hang by themselves. they usually associate with each other. what do you think is going to happen when you have a group of people with a 28 day supply of methadone? dave, and thank

you for your concern. people who are in treatment have made a commitment to their treatment. they are committed to recovery. they have, using their medication, worked with a practitioner or doctor who prescribes that. they work with a counselor. in this way they are well supported in their treatment over the course of time. we have not seen yet any data on diversion as a result of this federal flexibility. people are committed to their treatment and they have a support system in their health care system which will help them and support them as they move through recovery. hit, before coronavirus where were we in finally getting our arms around the opioid pandemic in this country -- the

opioid epidemic in this country? beth: there are a number of practicesurces and people can take advantage of to receive treatment for opioid abuse disorder. there are opioid abuse treatments through an office setting and outpatient treatment. however, there are a number of barriers that were inhibiting the access to these treatments. prescribe -- the strict rules around methadone. other type of drug that has this scrutiny, which adds to the stigma for this treatment of a chronic brain disease. opioid abuse disorder is a chronic relapsing brain disease and treating that and trying to reduce the barriers of accessing

treatment has been clear. laws that we talked about prior have been in place to covid. with covid really exacerbating the problem we have to move more quickly and address all of these barriers because we are seeing opioid overdose increase. host: do you think we will have to wait until we solve covid to do that? or do you think that there is the will to move on those issues even amid the pandemic? seen that this addiction treatment act -- mainstreaming addiction treatment act being moving through during covid, people recognize this is one way to address the epidemic. , butnly during a pandemic in the midst of this pandemic we

can help more people because we will have more prescribers. regulatoryfederal flexibilities that was allowed this drugscribing of over thes the waiver phone and over telemedicine. toe doctors are able prescribe and do this in a manner where they can reach people through the phones. we can increase access to treatment for all people with opioid abuse disorders. host: from eugene, oregon, you are next. i spent a summer in a medically induced, when i had an accident to my leg. spent three months in a morphine induced coma. what alternatives

i have nowadays to deal with this. our work is not around the treatment of pain, but thank you for your call. working with a health care provider to address your pain is your best avenue. someone in your family has treatment for opioid abuse -- seeking out a provider who provides medication and evidence-based treatment is the best place to look. host: sandra out of eastpointe, michigan. beth: good morning. the thing that gets me so angry is that people who want to take opioids take them for the wrong reasons and are hurting people who actually take it because they are in pain.

the government is hurting them, doctors --ple -- the in my case i have severe medical pain. thank god my doctor helps me. thousands and thousands of people, their doctors are afraid. ofse people have no quality life left because they are suffering because of the people who want to abuse drugs. same thing with alcoholics. there are people who are alcoholics and there are people who drink socially. it just gets me so angry that the government really is hurting people who actually go through terrible pain every day and they can't get the help because of people like you. host: what would you say to that caller?

call thank you for your and i recognize your pain and that you are trying to get help for it. our work has been focused on treating people with a chronic brain disease, chronic relapsing brain disease and helping to ensure that they are in recovery. been working around pain and pain management, that is something i hope you are successful with on your health care provider. host: pewtrust.org is the website if you want to check out the worth of -- work of buprenorphine -- andwork of beth connolly the pew charitable trust. we have a special line for those impacted by the opioid epidemic. kendra is on that line out of florida. , i go: i just want to say

to the methadone clinic here. the guy before was saying they give you a months supply and you can just basically -- he acted like you can do whatever. no. my clinic is extremely strict. they can call you at any time to ,ome back with your bottles have them counted, do a drug test whenever. had our counseling call us over zoom. my clinic is very strict. clinic know what kind of he goes to, because they are all different, but mine is very it has been extremely mspful to me, because i have , absolutely, and methadone was

the only thing that helped me be function dayand today with it. at times while it is embarrassing to say that i go there, i am very happy i found a place and am able to go there. it is not like they just pass it out to anybody, they are very strict and you do take drug tests all the time, you see your counselors all the time, and there is always people watching you. clinic he goesat to, but mine is extremely strict and extremely helpful. host: thank you for sharing your story. beth connolly, i will give you

the final minute. beth: thank you so much and thank you for your courage to call and share your story. it is important to hear from people like you hor in recovery because you can inspire others. congratulations on your recovery. ideaant to repeat is the -- one thing we know about opioid abuse disorders is that barriers to treatment are complicated by how people are stigmatized and how medication and treatments themselves are stigmatized. story.ou for your stigma is really something that we see across the treatment system, and people who receive something we it's need to address. host: thank you for your time today.

>> coming up this morning, national consumers league executive director sally greenberg discusses consumer protection efforts amid a surge in coronavirus cases and a state president, who recently precipitated in a white house event on reopening schools, talked about challenges managing a college during coronavirus pandemic. watch c-span's washington journal live at 7:00 eastern sunday morning. on the discussion. >> next week, the house and senate return to legislative business before the august recess. on monday and tuesday, the house takes up the fiscal year 2021 national defense authorization act. the bill establishes policies for defense department programs. votes are expected early on monday. wednesday, the house will consider a bill to remove the

bus of chief justice roger tawney, the author of the 1857 dred scott ruling from the old supreme court chamber, and to address the issue of confederate statues on display in the u.s. capitol. the senate also convenes on monday to resume debate on the nomination of russell vote to be director of management and budget. for the remainder of the week, thesenate continued work on 21 defense authorization act. watch live coverage of the house on c-span, live coverage of the senate on c-span2, watch anytime on c-span.org, or listen on the go with the free c-span radio app. >> sunday night on q&a, the american conservative executive director and acting editor john burka on the executive edition of the magazine. >> i conceived of the project

because there's a lot going on right now and there's unsettling times for a number of americans, everything having to do with the covid crisis to the lockdown, to the killing of george floyd and subsequent protests and riots, and the presidential elections. a lot of people are taken the opportunity to re-examine principles and figure out where we stand as a nation. >> watch sunday night at 8:00 p.m. eastern on c-span skewing date. >> at the white house, president trump talked about rollback of regulations. he criticized proposals offered by democratic presidential candidate jode biden. ♪ democratic presidential candidate jode biden. ♪