Trump Administration Drives Opioid Deaths to Lowest in Nearly a Decade

DETROIT, MI—OCTOBER 27, 2026—The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today released new analysis from the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) examining America’s record-low overall age-adjusted death rate in 2025 and substantial progress in reducing prescription opioid exposure and expanding treatment. An article in Health Affairs Forefront and a new ASPE report highlight how actions across President Trump’s two terms to reduce unnecessary opioid prescribing, combat illicit fentanyl, and strengthen treatment and recovery have led opioid-related deaths in the United States to plummet to the lowest since President Trump declared a public health emergency in 2017. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. announced the findings at an event at Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network in Detroit, Michigan.

“President Trump has attacked the opioid crisis from every direction — rightsizing opioid prescribing, disrupting the fentanyl supply chain, and expanding treatment and recovery,” said Secretary Kennedy. “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.”

The ASPE report, The U.S. Age-Adjusted Death Rate Reached a Record Low in 2025: What Drove the Decline?, examines CDC’s provisional finding that the overall age-adjusted death rate reached 689.2 deaths per 100,000 people in 2025 — the lowest ever reported.

The accompanying analysis, Two Opioid Policy Trends Are Moving in the Right Direction: Sustaining a Decade of Progress, examines pharmacy dispensing from March 2015 through March 2026. Using population-adjusted measures, researchers found:

• Opioid prescriptions dispensed fell to 45.3% of their March 2015 level.
• Total opioid dosage dispensed fell to 35.2% of the baseline.
• The number of patients receiving prescription opioids through retail pharmacies fell to 49.6% of the baseline.
• The number of patients filling retail prescriptions for buprenorphine or naltrexone, medications used to treat substance use disorders, rose to 218% of the baseline.

During his first term, President Trump signed the 2018 SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act, strengthening the federal response through prevention, treatment, and recovery programs. His Administration also pursued a plan to reduce nationwide opioid prescription fills by one-third within three years. In 2018, the Justice Department and DEA proposed lowering 2019 manufacturing quotas for six frequently misused opioids by an average of 10%. Together, these policies led to the first reduction in drug-related deaths in nearly three decades.

Since returning to office in 2025, President Trump has renewed that agenda. He fully closed the Southern Border to illegal aliens. He signed the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act of 2025, continuing and updating programs addressing substance use disorders, overdose prevention, and recovery. The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) intensified efforts to disrupt the global fentanyl supply chain and launched its Fentanyl Free America initiative. In January 2026, President Trump established the Great American Recovery to better align federal programs and integrate prevention, treatment, recovery support, and reentry across systems.

“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,” said HHS Senior Advisor and co-chair of the Great American Recovery Kathryn Burgum. “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.”

The ASPE report The U.S. Age-Adjusted Death Rate Reached a Record Low in 2025: What Drove the Decline? can be found here.

The Health Affairs Forefront article can be found here.