Latest news with #ChrisStawasz
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Declining overdose numbers across U.S. mirror NH data
There were 30,000 fewer U.S. drug overdose deaths in 2024 than the year before, the largest one-year decline ever recorded, according to data released Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The numbers mirror a recent trend playing out across New Hampshire, including the state's two largest cities. An estimated 80,000 people died from overdoses last year according to the CDC, down 27% from the 110,000 in 2023. The CDC has been collecting comparable data for 45 years. The previous largest single-year drop was 4% in 2018, according to the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics. All but two states saw declines last year, with Nevada and South Dakota seeing small increases. There were 281 confirmed drug deaths in the state in 2024, a year-over-year decrease of 36%, according to the CDC. The number of overdoses overall in Manchester and Nashua continues to trend 'significantly lower,' Chris Stawasz, regional director of American Medical Response (AMR), said in a statement. There were 41 suspected overdoses in Manchester and Nashua in March, 23% below the 12-month rolling average, according to data shared by AMR. Twenty-eight of those occurred in Manchester, 13 in Nashua. By comparison, in April 2024 there were 81 suspected opioid ODs between the two communities including 7 deaths. The decrease is mainly attributed to the increased availability of Narcan in New Hampshire, which can reverse the effects of some opioids. Four overdoses were fatal in April, all of them in Manchester. According to AMR, of the 41 suspected opioid overdoses reported in March in both Manchester and Nashua, 51% occurred in a home or residence, 10% happened in a public building or area and 22% were in vehicles or in a roadway. Five percent were in a jail or prison. Seven percent occurred in a hotel or motel. In 37% of the overdoses, a bystander or member of the public administered Narcan before EMS personnel arrived. Overall, 37% of those involved in suspected opioid overdoses gave no fixed address or said they were homeless. In New Hampshire, anyone can seek substance use disorder treatment by accessing the N.H. Doorway program 24/7. To access the N.H. Doorway program, call 211 at any time of the day or night, or visit If you believe someone is overdosing, call 911 immediately.
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ambulance caravan drives home opposition to House rate setting move
Ambulance caravan drives home opposition to House rate setting This shows only a small leg of the much larger caravan of ambulance vehicles that slowly surrounded the Legislative Office Building Wednesday during a hearing where their executives spoke out strongly against a House-approved rate setting bill. A caravan of slow-moving ambulances surrounded the Legislative Office Building Wednesday morning as executives inside warned that a House-passed rate for commercial insurance reimbursement could drive more companies out of business. Ambulance service providers, fire chiefs and other first responders packed the small room of the Senate Health Care Committee to protest the House proposal that would set commercial insurance rates for services at 202% of the federal Medicare rate. 'This bill falls short and puts our entire EMS system at significant risk,' said Chris Stawasz, regional director for American Medical Response and someone who has fought over this issue with insurers for four decades. 'It doesn't fix the crisis; it actually makes it worse.' Rep. John Hunt, R-Rindge, pushed back promoting his bill (HB 316) that cleared the House of Representatives on a voice vote last month. The rate in the bill was along the lines of an actuarial study the Legislature in 2024 had called upon the Insurance Department to commission and came up with right rate, he said. The state Senate has already gone on record with its own bill (SB 425) with the backing of ambulance carriers that would reimburse 325% of the Medicare rate. Hunt said it's not fair to jack up the price tag for small businesses with commercial insurance since Medicare for seniors and Medicaid for low income residents makes up at least 80% of all ambulance calls. Large businesses come under the federal ERISA program and would be exempt from the higher rate, Hunt noted. 'Let's let all the suckers who happen to have insurance from their employers … let's screw them. No, that's not what we were going to do in the House Commerce Committee,' Hunt said. 'To simply say this will relieve the pressure on fire departments and EMS and let's just go after small businesses and individuals and make them pay for it, it's just not fair, it's just not right. This bill is well thought out; it's the right answer.' Less than 50 cents on the dollar Studies confirm Medicare pays about 46% of the actual cost to transport by ambulance, Medicaid about 42%. State Sen. Sue Prentiss, D-Lebanon, a paramedic and executive director of the American Trauma Society, pointed out Berlin EMS — which held the ambulance contract with that North Country city since 1985 — is shutting its doors next week, forcing the local fire agency to pick up emergency calls. 'How can these rural carriers hang on if they don't get relief?' Prentiss asked. State Rep. Mark Proulx, R-Manchester, a retired city firefighter, urged the Senate to kill this bill. 'We have already had a couple of companies go out or running on skeletal crews,' said Proulx, who has also served as deputy chief of Epping Fire Rescue and a call member of the Auburn Fire Department. 'We'd rather go back to the old system and have the insurance company pay the bill they send them and if not then, we will balance bill.' House sponsor defends his proposed rate for ground ambulance transport House Commerce and Consumer Affairs Committee Chairman John Hunt, R-Rindge and lower right inset, defended his proposed commercial rate for ambulance services at 202% of the Medicare that ambulance company executives said could drive many of them out of business. The campaign to set a 'ground ambulance' rate looks to eliminate balanced billing, in which the insurance company gives the ambulance firm less than its cost and the ambulance company then sends a 'surprise' balanced bill statement to the consumer to try and collect the rest. 'We want to see a prohibition on balanced billing. We believe that is a pro-consumer protection measure if we can do that. This has been a problem in this state for a very long time,' said Insurance Commissioner D.J. Bettencourt. 'Additionally, we want to do what we can to support our EMS providers.' Bettencourt urged the stakeholders on both sides to reopen talks to settle on a compromise rate structure. Former Insurance Commissioner Paula Rogers now lobbies for the America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), a trade organization that includes the largest carriers including Anthem, Harvard Pilgrim and Cigna. 'Something is going to happen this session; it's gotten to the point where something has to be done,' Rogers said. 'The study came in at 202% and the Prentiss bill is at 325%.' As usual, legislative leaders from both parties have already identified a potential fallback position if an agreement can't be reached. Sen. David Rochefort, R-Littleton, is chairman of Senate Health Care and authored a separate, Senate-passed bill (SB 130) to name a 12-person commission to study delivery models for EMS and report back to lawmakers with recommendations by Nov. 1. Hunt floated a possible compromise by convincing his committee to retain until next year a fourth bill (HB 725) from Rep. Jerry Stringham, D-Lincoln, that would have set the same 325% rate as in Prentiss's bill. What's Next: The Senate Health Care Committee is likely to recommend killing this bill or amending it with the Senate's higher, 325% rate standard. Prospects: Not 50-50 are the odds for a deal. Rochefort's play may look like the smartest one because if the House and Senate cannot agree, the commission idea suddenly will surge to the front of the line. klandrigan@
Yahoo
15-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Xylazine warning even as ODs and deaths continue to trend lower
Feb. 14—Data released Friday shows the number of overdoses in the state's two largest cities continued to trend "significantly lower" in January, though officials warn that could change with a powerful drug becoming more popular in New Hampshire. There were 42 suspected overdoses in Manchester and Nashua in January, according to data shared by American Medical Response (AMR). Thirty of those occurred in Manchester, 12 in Nashua. Four overdoses were fatal — three in Manchester, one in Nashua. Despite the recent fatalities, January continued the trend of significantly lower opioid overdoses in both communities — 29% below the rolling 12-month average, Chris Stawasz, regional director of AMR, said in a statement. "The sustained drops in opioid overdose death percentages are consistent with the statewide death statistics reported in the N.H. Drug Data Update from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner," Stawasz said. Manchester and Nashua recorded in 2024 the lowest number of overdoses in a year since the COVID pandemic. There were 710 suspected overdoses in Manchester and Nashua in 2024 — 526 of those occurred in Manchester, 184 in Nashua. Sixty-six overdoses were fatal in 2024 — 46 in Manchester, 20 in Nashua. Nashua recorded both the lowest number of suspected opioid overdoses and lowest number of suspected opioid deaths in one year since AMR began tracking the data in 2015. Manchester recorded a 24% drop in suspected opioid overdoses in 2024 compared to 2023, with Nashua down 19%. The Queen City recorded a 21% decrease in suspected opioid deaths in 2024, with Nashua down 49%, compared to the prior year. "Keep in mind that due to the nature of the opioid epidemic and its clear history of unpredictability, it is always possible that the trend of lower numbers could quickly change," Stawasz said. "It is common to see different varieties of illicit poly substances appear without warning. Many can be highly lethal or require alternative approaches for successful lifesaving treatment." Stawasz said in the most recent update from the state's the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Xylazine and Carfentanil were reported to be both "present and contributory" in over a dozen drugs deaths in New Hampshire last year. "Increasingly now mixed with illicit fentanyl, xylazine's powerful sedative properties complicate EMS providers treatment of suspected opioid overdoses," Stawasz said. "It is undetectable to medics and Narcan does not reverse its effect. When present, it requires a significant additional and prolonged effort to maintain an effective airway and respiratory status on a victim." The federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) reports xylazine has been detected in approximately 30% of the fentanyl seized by law enforcement in New Hampshire. People who inject drug mixtures containing xylazine also can develop severe wounds, including necrosis — the rotting of human tissue — that can lead to amputation, the DEA warned. On Feb. 12, Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01) joined a bipartisan group of Senate and House colleagues in reintroducing the Combating Illicit Xylazine Act, which would make xylazine a Schedule III controlled substance while protecting access for veterinarians, farmers, cattlemen, and ranchers who use xylazine to treat large animals. "As we continue to see xylazine being mixed with fentanyl, heroin, and other deadly drugs, we must take action to crack down on dealers who are cutting drugs with this substance that worsens the life-threatening impacts of fentanyl," Pappas said in statement. The Combating Illicit Xylazine Act would: * Schedule xylazine as a Schedule III illicit substance under the Controlled Substances Act; * Ensure veterinarians, farmers, and ranchers can still use the drug for its intended purpose by creating a clear definition of "ultimate user" — someone lawfully permitted to possess a controlled substance for legitimate use; * Enable the DEA to track its manufacturing to ensure it is not diverted to the illicit market; * Require a report on prevalence, risks, and recommendations regarding xylazine. According to AMR, of the 42 suspected opioid overdoses reported in January in both Manchester and Nashua, 31% occurred in a home or residence, 40% happened in a public building or area and 17% were in vehicles or in a roadway. None occurred in a jail or prison. Five percent occurred in a hotel or motel. In 10% of the overdoses, a bystander or member of the public administered Narcan before EMS personnel arrived. In New Hampshire, anyone can seek substance use disorder treatment by accessing the NH Doorway program 24/7. To access the NH Doorway program, call 211 at any time of the day or night, or visit If you believe someone is overdosing, call 911 immediately.
