WILKES-BARRE — The Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP), in partnership with Penn State Harrisburg’s Douglas W. Pollock Center for Addiction Outreach and Research, Shatterproof, and PGP — also known as the Public Good Projects — this week announced findings from the fourth year of the Life Unites Us campaign — an evidence-based approach to reducing the stigma of substance use disorder (SUD).
Life Unites Us is a people-forward, research-driven campaign that DDAP launched in September 2020. The campaign utilizes social media to spread stories of individuals in recovery, their family members and allies who support those with SUD.
Additionally, the campaign gives local organizations an opportunity to learn through webinars, fosters community partnerships to promote recovery-focused support at the local level, and maintains an interactive data dashboard detailing the campaign’s progress.
“The hard truth is that stigma still stops people from reaching out and getting treatment, and that must change,” said DDAP Secretary Dr. Latika Davis-Jones. “Every move we make with Life Unites Us is guided by that principle. It is encouraging to see that as a result of Life Unites Us, attitudes are improving toward issues like medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), SUD treatment, and harm reduction. We’re making progress with each year of the campaign; that’s what we want to see. I look forward to our continued success in erasing stigmatizing views and attitudes and replacing them with positive views and acceptance.”
During its fourth year, the campaign served over 9 million impressions to almost 2 million Pennsylvanians with information and messaging to encourage stigma reduction.
Additional statistics include:
• More than 360 individuals in recovery, family members, and allies recorded or submitted testimonials that were shared on the campaign’s website and social media channels.
• Partnering with over 200 community-based organizations with stigma-reduction resources and messaging.
• Hosting six webinars across numerous topics related to stigma reduction with over 400 attendees.
A survey of Pennsylvanians conducted three and a half years into the campaign found several trends, including greater agreement that fentanyl test strips should be used as a harm reduction strategy in the Commonwealth. Pennsylvanians also indicated higher willingness to purchase naloxone.
Some additional findings from the survey include:
• Nearly 75% of respondents who viewed the campaign agreed that the opioid epidemic is a serious problem, compared to nearly 61% of respondents who did not view the campaign.
• 85% of respondents who viewed the campaign agreed that they would be willing to provide naloxone to friends or family members, compared to 78% who did not view the campaign.
• Nearly 70% of respondents who viewed the campaign believe that employers should not be allowed to deny employment to a person taking MOUD, compared to 58% who did not view the campaign.
Rep. Meuser co-sponsors legislation to increase affordable home-ownership
U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Dallas, this week co-sponsored H.R.3940 — the Neighborhood Homes Investment Act — which establishes a new tax incentive to create 500,000 starter homes in under-resourced communities over the next decade.
Meuser said this legislation addresses the growing challenges families face nationwide as rising costs and limited housing supply make home-ownership increasingly difficult. He said in many rural, urban, and suburban areas, the cost to build or rehabilitate a home often exceeds its market value upon completion.
Meuser said the proposed tax credit in this legislation bridges this “value gap” by covering up to 35% of eligible development costs, reducing the financial risk for developers and spurring investment in new and rehabilitated housing.
Meuser added that H.R.3940 will make home-ownership more attainable for families nationwide, including in Pennsylvania, while revitalizing under-invested communities and creating opportunities for lasting growth and renewal.
“Families throughout the country and in Pennsylvania’s Ninth District are facing an affordable housing crisis,” Meuser said. “In rural areas, like many across America, the cost of building or refurbishing homes has outpaced what people can afford, making home-ownership harder to achieve. The Neighborhood Homes Investment Act is a big step toward addressing this issue by offering a tax incentive to help invest in new homes and the rehabilitation of older ones. This initiative will expand home-ownership opportunities and act as a catalyst for revitalizing under-served urban and rural areas, driving economic growth, and building on the foundation of the American Dream. I strongly encourage my colleagues to support this bipartisan, commonsense legislation.”
The legislation is supported by many organizations focused on expanding affordable home ownership, including the American Bankers Association, Local Initiatives Support Corporation, Mortgage Bankers Association, National Association of Realtors and Habitat for Humanity.
H.R.3940 was referred to the Ways and Means Committee for further consideration.
New report details state of health insurance market in Pennsylvania
To further its efforts to promote transparency to consumers, the Pennsylvania Insurance Department (PID) this week announced the availability of the first Pennsylvania Affordable Care Act and Qualified Health Plans (QHP) Summary Report — a report explaining how PID reviews health insurance products and enforces laws to ensure a fair insurance market and equitable treatment of consumers.
“The Shapiro Administration will not stop pushing for insurance plans and benefits that work for all Pennsylvanians,” said Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner Michael Humphreys. “We’re proud of the expanded benefits that will be offered to Pennsylvanians in 2025. We worked with insurers to expand benefits to specifically address coverage concerns that we’ve heard directly from individuals and families across the Commonwealth. Further, understanding what benefits must be covered by insurance can be complicated. The QHP summary report followed our annual analysis of plans and provides important transparency into our health insurance markets.”
The summary report provides an overview of the Pennsylvania health insurance market and outlines how PID analyzes health insurers’ compliance with rules and regulations related to products and rates.
The review found that, for plan year 2025, Pennsylvanians covered under individual and small group plans will see full coverage of:
• Over-the-counter (OTC) contraception Opill with no cost-sharing.
• Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy for autism spectrum disorder.
• HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Integral Services with no cost sharing.
• At least one kind of HIV PrEP medication with no prior authorization or cost-sharing.
Pennsylvanians will also see that several insurers:
• Removed prior authorization requirements on certain drugs, meaning Pennsylvanians are no longer required to seek permission from an insurer when prescribed specific medications.
• Moved certain drugs to lower-cost formulary tiers, making those drugs more affordable for Pennsylvanians.
• Added certain drugs to their formulary, providing consumers with greater access to specific medications.
$20M in grant funding approved for school safety, mental health supports
The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency’s (PCCD) School Safety and Security Committee (SSSC) this week approved nearly $20 million in competitively awarded school safety grants for nonpublic schools and municipalities, law enforcement agencies and approved security vendors supplying school security personnel services to schools.
The awards announced complete the $120 million school safety grants program package appropriated in the bipartisan 2024-25 budget.
“I’ve listened to our kids as they’ve told me about their mental health struggles — that’s why my administration is getting real help to students all across Pennsylvania quickly,” said Gov. Josh Shapiro.
The FY 2024-25 school safety grants package provides $120 million through the following two solicitations:
• Competitive FY24-25 Targeted School Safety Grants for Nonpublic Schools. Under this solicitation, 367 applications were approved totaling $19,665,000. The purpose of this funding is to support programs addressing school violence and improving school safety and security. In addition to nonpublic schools, municipalities, law enforcement agencies, and approved security vendors were also eligible to apply for funding to support school security personnel services in all Pennsylvania schools.
• Noncompetitive FY24-25 School Safety & Mental Health Grants. Under this solicitation, 779 public school entities— 500 school districts, 176 charter schools, 29 Intermediate Units, and 74 area career and technical schools— received a combined total of $100 million in formula grant funding to address both physical security and behavioral health needs.