we have to ration narcan every week i have to decide who gets narcan and who doesn't does that make sense we ration a life-saving antidote in the middle of a public health emergency? under the mayor's leadership we are treating addiction as the disease as it is to establish a stabilization center working to ensure they're all standardized levels of care for addiction treatment and many partners do exceptional work on a shoestring budget imagine how many more lives we could save if only we have the resources to do so. this is why we in baltimore stand with the affordable care act looking at the severity of the epidemic and for those sections that are the hardest hit i am so glad to have the honor to introduce my congressman and an inspiration to so many congressman elisha cummings. >> thank you very much dr. wen , before i discussed the care act many people i must think and also dr. wen for moderating today's event but more importantly for being a tireless leader with regard to healthcare in our city and nation. also for your invaluable assistance to draft the care act to spread the word a

narcan. we have saved 600 lives in the past 2.5 years. we are having to ration this life-saving medication, which i do not understand how, in the middle of an emergency, are we having to deprive people of something that can literally save their lives? baltimore, iday in have to decide who gets this life-saving medication and who has to go without. and i see the number of people who are dying at this unprecedented rate. they were not even at the peak of the epidemic. we actually know what works. question is, do we have the political will? will we commit the resources that we know will be effective to combat this epidemic? to thosen it comes resources, what is the cost factor like for the city of baltimore? how much is getting paid by the city and how much are you receiving as far as help when it comes to the state and federal government? are glad to have partners in the state and federal government who have assisted us at the time of crisis. nearly numbers are not enough, and i will give you an example. starting with naloxone or narcan, the antidote. the discount

narcan. we have saved 600 lives in the past 2.5 years. we are having to ration this life-saving medication, which i do not understand how, in the middle of an emergency, are we having to deprive people of something that can literally save their lives? baltimore, iday in have to decide who gets this life-saving medication and who has to go without. and i see the number of people who are dying at this unprecedented rate. they were not even at the peak of the epidemic. we actually know what works. question is, do we have the political will? will we commit the resources that we know will be effective to combat this epidemic? to thosen it comes resources, what is the cost factor like for the city of baltimore? how much is getting paid by the city and how much are you receiving as far as help when it comes to the state and federal government? are glad to have partners in the state and federal government who have assisted us at the time of crisis. nearly numbers are not enough, and i will give you an example. starting with naloxone or narcan, the antidote. the discount

narcan to save 1130 lives in 2017. that is not counting the lives saved by first responders, police officers, firefighters, or ems. we are having to ration naloxone. every week i have to decide who will get naloxone and who will go without. does it make sense that we are rationing in the middle of a public health emergency? we are focused on treating addiction as the disease that it is, working to ensure all hospitals have standardized levels of care for addiction treatment, and many partners in the community do exceptional work on a shoestring budget. imagine how many more lives we could save if we had the resources to do so. this is why we stand in such strong support of the care act that will give us the same funding proportional to the directly to local jurisdictions like ours that are the hardest hit. to tell us more about the care act, i have the honor of introducing my congressman, a public health hero, and an inspiration to many, congressman elijah cummings. rep. cummings: thank you. before i discuss the care act, i want to thank you dr. wen for moderating, but more importantly for being a tireless leader with regard to health ca

narcan. we could save over 2600 lives in the last two and half years. but we have to ration this life-changing medication which i don't understand how in the middle of an emergency are we having to deprive people of something that can literally save theirso lives? everything that they in baltimore i have to decide who gets this life-saving medication and who has to go without. nac the number of the peoples who are dying at the unprecedented rate. but we actually know what works. do we have the political will? for those resources to combat this epidemic. >>host: when it comes to the resources what is the cost factor? how much areth you receiving when it comes to the state and federal government? >> we are glad to have partners in the state and federal government who have assisted us at this time during a crisis. but the numbers are not nearly enough. so the narcan opioid antidote even at the discounted price is $75 for oneis kit. at this time of the public health epidemic every single resident in our city needs to carry this in their first aid kit and medicine cabinet if you