--- title: "Governors Association Meeting Highlights Bipartisan Nature of Opioid Battle" id: "38889" type: "post" slug: "governors-association-meeting-highlights-bipartisan-nature-of-opioid-battle" published_at: "2017-07-14T21:28:08+00:00" modified_at: "2026-11-09T16:17:45+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2017/07/14/governors-association-meeting-highlights-bipartisan-nature-of-opioid-battle/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2017/07/14/governors-association-meeting-highlights-bipartisan-nature-of-opioid-battle.md" excerpt: "The National Governors Association, which has put much work into tackling the issue of opioid addiction, made the issue the center of discussion in its summer meeting this week. The problem is one that brings leaders together from both parties." taxonomy_category: - "Governance" taxonomy_post_tag: - "AssociationsNow" - "DC government" - "Leadership" - "opioid crisis" - "Public Policy" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "Association CEO / Executive Director" - "C-Level" - "Director" - "Executive Team" taxonomy_persona: - "Executive Leadership" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » Governors Association Meeting Highlights Bipartisan Nature of Opioid Battle The fight against synthetic opioids, largely taking place at the state level, took center stage at this week’s National Governors Association Summer Meeting in Rhode Island. “This problem is tearing apart families from one side of the country to the other,” Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) said at the event on Thursday, [according to U.S. News & World Report (opens in a new tab)](https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/articles/2017-07-13/leaders-united-to-tackle-opioid-epidemic-at-national-governors-association-summer-meeting) . “This is one of the biggest problems to ever affect our country.” The discussion often focused on the fact that the issue affects all walks of life. During a panel discussion, Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo (D) noted a recent encounter she had with a successful business owner whose son had fallen into the trap of opioid abuse. The encounter happened when the primary topic at hand was business growth—not opioids. “I was talking to the owner of a thriving and successful business”” Raimondo explained, [according to Rhode Island Public Radio (opens in a new tab)](http://ripr.org/post/nga-governors-outline-long-fight-against-opioid-crisis#stream/0) . “He’s a well-off guy in a well-off suburb. At the end, he pulled me aside and said, ‘Governor, keep plugging on the opioid issue.’” This week’s discussion, which has been frequent at the [state](http://associationsnow.com/2016/02/opioid-addiction-fight-takes-center-stage-governors/) and [local levels](http://associationsnow.com/2016/03/local-government-groups-team-fight-opioid-abuse/) in recent years, took on a degree of fresh urgency because of the current legislative environment in Washington. As governors from both parties were meeting, [the Senate GOP was discussing the latest version (opens in a new tab)](http://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/14/new-senate-republicans-health-care-bill-already-in-trouble.html) of its healthcare bill. While the bill includes funding for opioid treatment, the timing of its reported rollbacks struck Democratic governors, like North Carolina’s Roy Cooper, as questionable. “The first thing I’ve called for is treatment, and the first thing we have to realize is we cannot have millions of Americans lose their healthcare coverage and still effectively attack this crisis,” Cooper said, according to *Rhode Island Public Radio*. Republican governor of Massachusetts, Charlie Baker, who has seen [some success with his state’s opioid treatment strategies](http://associationsnow.com/2017/05/governors-association-launches-opioid-treatment-pilot-targeted-prisons/) , noted that whatever the national political climate is, there’s still much that states can do to help take on the issue. “We have not treated the study and the research of addiction with quite the same focus as we’ve treated cardiovascular disease or other kinds of cancer … we need much better data on what works and why,” [Baker said at the event (opens in a new tab)](https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/articles/2017-07-13/leaders-united-to-tackle-opioid-epidemic-at-national-governors-association-summer-meeting) , according to *U.S. News & World Report*. (iStock/Thinkstock) [Ernie Smith](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/) Ernie Smith is a former senior editor for Associations Now. [More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/) Tags: [#DC government](https://associationsnow.com/tag/dc-government/) [#Leadership](https://associationsnow.com/tag/leadership/) [#opioid crisis](https://associationsnow.com/tag/opioid-crisis/) [#Public Policy](https://associationsnow.com/tag/public-policy/) **Stay Informed** [Subscribe to our free newsletter](https://associationsnow.com/newsletter/) , *Associations Now Daily News*, to find out what’s happening in the association world every business day. ## You Might Like - [VideoASAE Legislative 2025 Fly-InApril 4, 2025](https://associationsnow.com/2025/04/04/asae-legislative-2025-fly-in/) - [PodcastAssociations NOW Presents: Leading Together-Strengthening the Board-CSO PartnershipDecember 18, 2025](https://associationsnow.com/2025/12/18/associations-now-presents-leading-together-strengthening-the-board-cso-partnership/) - [VideoSmarter Board Management for Associations: An OnBoard ShowcaseJuly 24, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/07/24/smarter-board-management-for-associations-an-onboard-showcase/) - [Video2026 Summit Awards DinnerOctober 2, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/10/02/2026-summit-awards-dinner/) ## Comments **Comments are for ASAE members.** [Learn more about comments on this site.](https://associationsnow.com/comments/) [Log in](https://associationsnow.com/login?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fassociationsnow.com%2F2017%2F07%2F14%2Fgovernors-association-meeting-highlights-bipartisan-nature-of-opioid-battle%2F%23comments) to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/) !