WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul spent Tuesday morning at North Central Health Care in Wausau meeting with leaders about the state’s opioid and meth epidemic.
“This is a problem that I view as the most significant public safety issue we face and one of the most significant public health issues,” said Kaul.
Kaul praised the NCHC efforts as well as their partnership with local law enforcement and others in the community to make resources available to those that are impacted by the drugs including early intervention to reduce the number of people who need in-patient care.
Those aspects tie into Kaul’s multifaceted approach to solving the problem. “Number one is prevention. Number two is we need to expand access to substance abuse treatment, so people that are suffering from substance use disorder are able to get the help they need to get back on their feet.”
He said the state’s recent move to file lawsuits against drug manufacturers such as Purdue Pharma is another step towards controlling the epidemic, and anything gained from those lawsuits could be used to fund treatment, prevention, and education resources for communities.
ON THE SUPREME COURT DECISION REGARDING LAME-DUCK LEGISLATION
During the stop, Kaul also took time to answer questions about last week’s Supreme Court ruling which put a stay on certain aspects of the controversial lame-duck bills that some say were designed to limit the powers of Kaul and Governor Tony Evers before they took office.
Kaul adds that because he moved to withdraw the state from the national lawsuit against the ACA during a time when the laws were not in effect, there will be no move to rejoin the effort. “The Supreme Court made it clear that they were not asking for those actions to be undone, so the state is no longer part of the lawsuit.
“That’s a really good thing because if that suit is successful millions of Americans will lose access to affordable health insurance, protections for people with pre-existing conditions would be eliminated, and young adults would lose the guarantee that they can remain on their parents’ coverage until they turn 26,” added Kaul.
He says he sees the legislation as a shift of the handling of litigation from the executive branch to the legislative branch, which he says is a violation of the separation of powers. “I believe it is an executive branch function, as is true in every other state in the country. But, we will see what the court decides.”
Further court proceedings are still pending in the case, but it’s not clear when those will happen. Kaul says he hopes the matter is resolved quickly because the sooner it’s over, the sooner lawmakers can move on. “It has distracted us from the important work that we need to be doing, which is making progress for Wisconsinites. I’m hopeful we will have a resolution to this relatively soon.”
