The opioid epidemic is claiming a record amount of lives annually in the U.S., but the death rate from painkiller abuse among veterans is nearly double that of the broader population.
The Department of Veterans Affairs is stepping up its effort to treat military veterans who get hooked on the dangerous pills, but are struggling to stay ahead of the crisis. While VA doctors have treated roughly 68,000 veterans for addiction to opioid painkillers since March, service members continue to die from painkiller overdoses at twice the rate of the non-military population, reports Reuters.
Former Democratic Rep. Patrick Kennedy, who recently served on President Donald Trump’s White House commission on opioid abuse, is critical of the lack of action on this issue from Congress, saying Friday, “our veterans deserve better than polished sound bites and empty promises.”
[contentcards url=”http://dailycaller.com/2017/11/10/veterans-are-dying-from-painkiller-overdoses-at-twice-the-rate-of-the-us-population/” target=”_blank”]