{"id":9163,"date":"2026-04-15T07:00:36","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T12:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/15\/missouri-first-responders-naloxone-distribution-efforts-face-potential-budget-cuts\/"},"modified":"2026-04-15T07:00:36","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T12:00:36","slug":"missouri-first-responders-naloxone-distribution-efforts-face-potential-budget-cuts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/15\/missouri-first-responders-naloxone-distribution-efforts-face-potential-budget-cuts\/","title":{"rendered":"Missouri first responders\u2019 naloxone distribution efforts face potential budget cuts"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n

Volunteers and staff from the Addiction Science Team at the University of Missouri-St. Louis package naloxone and other community health supplies for statewide distribution in early 2025 (Photo submitted).<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When paramedics from the St. Charles City Fire Department arrive at the scene of an opioid overdose, patients refuse to go to the hospital about 75% of the time.<\/span><\/p>\n

But even if they decline treatment, they\u2019re likely to accept <\/span>naloxone<\/span><\/a> kits that paramedics leave behind, said Marc Doll, emergency medical services bureau chief for the department.<\/span><\/p>\n

First responders are ideally placed to distribute the medication, Doll told The Independent, which quickly reverses opioid overdoses to those who need it most.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to be the ones that have the best contact time with people that are at their most vulnerable, when they\u2019re more likely to accept the help so that we can give it to them,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday recommended cushioning the blow of a funding cut passed by the Missouri House for naloxone distribution by first responders, restoring $5 million. The efforts are still facing a $3 million reduction from the current fiscal year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Since Missouri began receiving settlement funds from the nation\u2019s top opioid producers and distributors in 2023, the Missouri Institute for Mental Health at the University of Missouri-St. Louis has used some of that money to distribute naloxone throughout the state. In 2025, the institute gave out more than 1.2 million doses of naloxone. Each kit contains two doses of the medication, instructions for its use and a list of resources for people seeking help for opioid use disorders.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Senate plan would partially restore the funding by drawing from the state\u2019s opioid resettlement fund. Republican state Rep. Dirk Deaton of Seneca, chair of the House Budget Committee, opposed an amendment seeking to restore some of the naloxone distribution funding in the House last month, citing the need to preserve opioid settlement funds for future years.<\/span><\/p>\n

If the committee votes to approve the plan, it will go to debate by the full Senate.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rachel Winograd, director of addiction science at the institute, which is the state\u2019s sole contracted purchaser and distributor of naloxone, told The Independent that while she sees the move as a \u201cmeaningful step forward,\u201d a $3 million cut would still be significant.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAny meaningful restoration of naloxone funding in Missouri saves lives,\u201d she said. \u201cAt the same time, any cut to this funding has real consequences.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Doll said naloxone availability is crucial to getting people into treatment and recovery.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDead people don\u2019t get into long-term recovery,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/b><\/p>\n

Opioid settlement funds<\/h4>\n

\t<\/p>\n

Since 2023, Missouri has received <\/span>$213.5 million<\/span><\/a> in opioid settlement funds.<\/span><\/p>\n

The number of Missourians who died from an opioid overdose decreased by 42% between 2021 and 2024, from a peak of 1,581 to 910. Between 2024 and 2025 alone, the number of opioid overdose deaths <\/span>declined<\/span><\/a> by more than a third.<\/span><\/p>\n

Gov. Mike Kehoe recommended keeping naloxone distribution funding flat at $13.1 million for fiscal year 2027, with $8 million for first responders and $5.1 million for other naloxone distribution efforts.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

During House debate in March, Democratic state Rep. Kimberly-Ann Collins of St. Louis sponsored an amendment that would have restored $6.5 million for naloxone distribution.<\/span><\/p>\n

Collins told The Independent that naloxone distribution funds \u201chave everything to do with supporting individuals with substance use disorders.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

But Deaton opposed the amendment because it would have required appropriating additional money from the state\u2019s opioid resettlement fund, instead of moving funds from elsewhere in the budget.<\/span><\/p>\n

Deaton also said there is already a saturation of naloxone in Missouri.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve not heard anybody across the state or any provider that they suffer from a lack of naloxone availability,\u201d Deaton said. \u201cIf anything, it\u2019s actually the opposite. I\u2019ve heard reports of\u2026naloxone being discarded because it\u2019s expired.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Doll said the availability of naloxone in the state is why overdose deaths are decreasing.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNow that we have that Narcan out there in the communities, because it\u2019s \u2018sitting around everywhere,\u2019\u201d Doll said, \u201c\u2026those Missourians now are not dying at the rate they were. And so the question is, do we want to protect those people or not?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

And 79% of the naloxone the institute distributed in fiscal year 2025 went to 563 organizations that requested routine shipments because their supply runs out, according to a <\/span>report<\/span><\/a> by the institute.<\/span><\/p>\n

The amendment failed on a 60 to 74 vote, with 14 Republicans in support.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lawmakers reduced naloxone distribution funds during the House committee mark-up process, after public hearings on Kehoe\u2019s budget recommendations were over.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jason White, EMS program manager for the Mid-America Regional Council, told The Independent many first responders felt blindsided by the change, since Kehoe hadn\u2019t recommended a cut.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf you know that it\u2019s not in the governor\u2019s budget\u2026then you can react to it and say, \u201cMaybe not a great idea. Let\u2019s talk about that,\u2019\u201d White said. \u201cAnd the last minute inclusion of those cuts left no ability to engage in the budget conversations on the House side.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/b><\/p>\n

\u2018Saving each other\u2019s lives\u2019<\/h4>\n

\t<\/p>\n

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved naloxone for over-the-counter use in <\/span>2023<\/span><\/a>. But at around $50 for two doses, Doll said it\u2019s too expensive for people who are using drugs regularly to purchase from pharmacies.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTheir money\u2019s not going to be going there,\u201d Doll said.<\/span><\/p>\n

First responders said the increased availability of naloxone has transformed their work.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Around 2020, Doll said, St. Charles sometimes had 50 overdose calls per month. Now it\u2019s rare for the city to have more than five.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sarah Czarnecki, mobile integrated health battalion chief for the Lincoln County Ambulance District, told The Independent the county had 23 and 24 overdoses in 2022 and 2023. In 2025, that number was in the single digits.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s also much more common for bystanders or police to have administered naloxone by the time paramedics arrive, Doll said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Paramedics check the patient for injuries and hook them up to a respirator to quickly get oxygen to their brain. Once the patient has regained consciousness, they offer to take the person to the hospital or connect them with substance use treatment or wraparound services.<\/span><\/p>\n

Even if patients decline services, Doll said, they\u2019re likely to accept naloxone kits that paramedics leave behind.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll talk to a family member that\u2019s there, the other person that was using with them,\u201d Doll said. \u201cWe\u2019ll leave it with them and say, \u2018Hey, if you change your mind, you can always call us back.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Czarnecki said the number of overdose calls her ambulance district receives has decreased over the past few years. While it\u2019s difficult to say for sure, she thinks it\u2019s because people are administering naloxone.<\/span><\/p>\n

And while paramedics recommend calling 911 even if someone has had naloxone and regained consciousness, Czarnecki said this pattern shows that naloxone works.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are saving each other\u2019s lives.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Winograd said she won\u2019t stop raising awareness about these lifesaving efforts until full funding is restored.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThese are not taxpayer dollars,\u201d Winograd said. \u201cThis is big pharma money that came back to our state that we should put back into families and communities to help save and improve lives. We have a moral obligation to do that.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Volunteers and staff from the Addiction Science Team at the University of Missouri-St. Louis package naloxone and other community health supplies for statewide distribution in early 2025 (Photo submitted). When paramedics from the St. Charles City Fire Department arrive at the scene of an opioid overdose, patients refuse to go to the hospital about 75%…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9164,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9163","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nMissouri first responders\u2019 naloxone distribution efforts face potential budget cuts - WestplexNews.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/15\/missouri-first-responders-naloxone-distribution-efforts-face-potential-budget-cuts\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Missouri first responders\u2019 naloxone distribution efforts face potential budget cuts - WestplexNews.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Volunteers and staff from the Addiction Science Team at the University of Missouri-St. Louis package naloxone and other community health supplies for statewide distribution in early 2025 (Photo submitted). 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