On the campaign trail, Virginia’s Republican candidate for Governor is talking about how to save taxpayer money, while also tackling the opioid epidemic.
In Virginia, jails have long been where homeless opioid addicts wind up -- at a high cost to the taxpayer. But facilities like the Healing Place in Richmond that focus on long-term recovery are seeing success with patients, and doing it with fewer dollars. Republican Ed Gillespie is running for governor and he toured the facility Wednesday. He says he’d like to see state money be freed up to support patients at treatments centers like these.
“If you can have someone not be incarcerated for a year largely because of their addiction, you’re not just saving a life. You’re saving taxpayer dollars.”
Gillespie also expressed hope that additional federal funding to tackle the opioid epidemic would find its way into the Senate Republican healthcare bill.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
