Bloomberg Philanthropies Commits $150 Million to Overdose Prevention and Makes Treatment Available to All in Correctional Facilities and Emergency Rooms in Six States

After successes combatting overdose deaths in Pennsylvania and Michigan, initiative will concentrate on saving more lives in states with high overdose death rates

Washington state joins initiative; work continues in Kentucky, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, and Wisconsin

Baltimore, MD – Michael R. Bloomberg today announced a new $150 million commitment to Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Overdose Prevention Initiative, expanding efforts to combat the overdose crisis in hard-hit U.S. states and save lives. Overdoses are the leading cause of death for adult Americans under age 45. While strengthening ongoing work in Kentucky, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, and Wisconsin, the initiative will expand to Washington state, which has seen some recent improvements but still has one of the country’s highest overdose death rates. All incarcerated people in these states will soon have access to opioid use disorder treatment. Opioid use disorder treatment will also be made available in all of the states’ hospital emergency departments. The announcement, which brings Bloomberg Philanthropies’ total investment in combating the overdose crisis to $335 million since 2018, was made at the 9th Annual Bloomberg American Health Summit. 

Bloomberg Philanthropies launched the Overdose Prevention Initiative in 2018 in response to declining U.S. life expectancy, driven largely by rising opioid overdose deaths. The initiative works with partners and U.S. states to save lives from overdose by expanding access to both medication treatment and overdose prevention services in prisons, jails, emergency departments and other community settings where there are high-risk populations for overdose – making treatment and overdose prevention available to all who need it. A 2018 study of opioid overdose survivors found that those who received medication treatment in a hospital emergency room were far less likely to die of a subsequent overdose than those who didn’t – underscoring the need to connect patients to treatment immediately. Similarly, a landmark 2007 study found that for formerly incarcerated individuals in Washington state substance use disorder is a strong predictor of post-release mortality and they were 129 times more likely to die of an overdose in the first two weeks after release than the general public – a pattern more recent research confirms persists today, underscoring the need for treatment while in prison. The initiative also promotes access to naloxone, the medication used to reverse an overdose, effective use of opioid settlement funds and strengthens data, evaluation, and evidence-based policy efforts. 

“Even one death from an overdose is too many,” said Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg L.P. and Bloomberg Philanthropies, WHO Global Ambassador for Noncommunicable Diseases and Injuries, and three-term mayor of New York City. “The overdose epidemic continues to be one of the hardest public health crises our nation faces. Now is the time to accelerate this hard-fought progress, expand access to treatment, and save more lives.” 

After helping to reduce overdose deaths and build lasting infrastructure to sustain progress independently, Bloomberg Philanthropies is concluding its work in Pennsylvania and Michigan – the two states where this work began in 2018. In Pennsylvania, the initiative’s efforts have helped ensure all 24 state prisons now provide buprenorphine for opioid use disorder. In Michigan, the initiative helped launch an online naloxone-by-mail portal with the state’s Department of Health and Human Services and allowed community organizations to distribute naloxone without requiring individual prescriptions. 

“Michigan continues to support lifesaving programs by investing in harm reduction, expanding treatment options, and increasing availability of community-based supports,” said Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. “Getting naloxone into the hands of people who can save a life is key to the state’s strategy. Since the state launched its online portal for community organizations to order this life-saving medication, we have prevented thousands of families from having to deal with the tragedy of an overdose death.” 

“Every life saved is a reminder that a smart, compassionate, multidisciplinary response to the opioid crisis works,” said Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro. “Since day one, my Administration has invested in proven, life-saving tools – getting naloxone into communities, expanding access to treatment, and meeting people where they are – and we’re grateful for Bloomberg Philanthropies’ significant investment in Pennsylvania to help us expand access to treatment in our state prisons. The results are clear: overdose deaths are down, thousands of Pennsylvanians are alive today, and more families have hope. We will build on this meaningful progress and keep doing this work until every Pennsylvanian has access to the care and support they deserve.” 

In 2024, overdose deaths declined nearly 15% more than the national average in the Bloomberg Overdose Prevention Initiative’s focus states. Additional accomplishments include:  

• helping remove policy barriers for buprenorphine access, making it easier for physicians to prescribe the medication  

• helping ensure all prisons in New Jersey and Wisconsin now provide medications for treating opioid use disorder, meaning people are less likely to use opioids or die of an overdose after they are released 

• helping more than 75% of emergency departments in New Jersey, Michigan, and Pennsylvania begin providing these medications, up from an average of 28% 

• expanding Medicaid-covered opioid-use treatment access for postpartum parents in Kentucky 

• expanding access to fentanyl test strips in New Mexico 

• helping more than half of U.S. states use evidence-based guidelines to spend opioid settlement funds – the billions of dollars paid by drug manufacturers and distributors to resolve lawsuits over the overdose crisis – on effective treatment and prevention programs 

Learn more about Bloomberg Philanthropies’ work to reduce overdose deaths here.  

About Bloomberg Philanthropies
Bloomberg Philanthropies invests in 700 cities and 150 countries around the world to ensure better, longer lives for the greatest number of people. The organization focuses on creating lasting change in five key areas: the Arts, Education, Environment, Government Innovation, and Public Health. Bloomberg Philanthropies encompasses all of Michael R. Bloomberg’s giving, including his foundation, corporate, and personal philanthropy as well as Bloomberg Associates, a philanthropic consultancy that advises cities around the world. In 2025, Bloomberg Philanthropies distributed $4.3 billion. For more information, please visit bloomberg.org, sign up for our newsletter, or follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Threads, Facebook, and X.

Media Contact: Veronica Lewin, veronical@bloomberg.org