Protecting Medicaid Coverage Is Crucial for Fighting Opioid Crisis

Protecting Medicaid Coverage Is Crucial for Fighting Opioid Crisis
Fentanyl precursors are displayed at Reuters' office in Mexico City on Oct. 4, 2023. Claudia Daut/Reuters
Chris Christie
Updated:
0:00
Commentary

One of the most important—and difficult—roles of government is to craft a budget rooted in reality, in which spending is aligned with revenue. When I took office as governor of New Jersey, the state faced an $11 billion deficit on a $29 billion budget. I’ll be the first to admit that the process of closing that enormous gap was slow, grueling work and that it rarely left anyone happy. Even so, it was also an opportunity to embrace new ideas, strengthen existing policies, and eliminate inefficient spending. The end result? A balanced budget that was smaller than the year before.

Chris Christie
Chris Christie
Author
Chris Christie served as the 55th governor of New Jersey (2010–2018) and was chair of the President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis in 2017.