HHS study finds opioid deaths are at lowest rate in nearly a decade

A Department of Health and Human Services report released Tuesday found that opioid-related deaths in the United States have plummeted to the lowest rate since President Trump declared a public health emergency in 2017.The new report from HHS’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation examined the United States’ record-low overall age-adjusted death rate in 2025 and progress in reducing prescription opioid exposure and expanding treatment.
The report considered the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s provisional finding that the overall age-adjusted death rate declined to 689.2 deaths per 100,000 people in 2025. 
“President Trump has attacked the opioid crisis from every direction — rightsizing opioid prescribing, disrupting the fentanyl supply chain, and expanding treatment and recovery,” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., said in a statement. “Those actions are saving lives and driving opioid deaths to the lowest in nearly a decade. We will keep pressing forward until every American struggling with addiction has a real path to recovery and a chance to rebuild a healthy life.”
A second analysis examined pharmacy dispensing from March 2015 through March 2026, which found opioid prescriptions dispensed fell to 45.3% of their 2015 level and the number of patients receiving prescription opioids through retail pharmacies fell to 49.6% of the baseline.
The reports come as the Trump administration looks to end the opioid epidemic, including by disrupting the global fentanyl supply chain and closing the southern border, which makes it more difficult to smuggle drugs into the United States.
“For families living with addiction, saving a life means another birthday, another holiday together, another chance to come home — that is what President Trump’s commitment to this fight is about,” HHS Senior Advisor and co-chair of the Great American Recovery Kathryn Burgum said. “Through the President’s Great American Recovery, we will keep our focus on the people behind the numbers and the families counting on the Trump Administration to save more American lives.”
Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.

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