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ASAM Commends President Trump's Nomination for Assistant Secretary of Mental Health and Substance Use
On April 21, President Donald Trump announced his nomination of Elinore McCance-Katz, MD, PhD to serve as the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use in the Department of Health and Human Services. Dr. McCance-Katz is a psychiatrist with a subspecialty in addiction psychiatry. She is currently the chief medical officer for the Rhode Island Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities, and Hospitals, and served as the first Chief Medical Officer for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
ASAM sent a letter to on April 3 to Dr. Tom Price, the Secretary of the Department of Heath and Human Services, to express support for Dr. Elinor McCance-Katz for the position. In the letter, ASAM remarked: "Dr. McCance-Katz’s background in addiction psychiatry will be especially valuable to this Administration as it seeks to combat the current epidemic of opioid addiction and overdose deaths. She is particularly well-suited to help inform the Administration’s efforts to expand access to effective treatment for opioid addiction, a goal which we share with the President."