Recent news from CVS Health and their Pharmacy Benefit Manager CVS Caremark has patients across Connecticut and across the nation on edge — worrying that medications they need — in some cases, life-saving medications — may not be available to them.

The victory of Democrat Ned Lamont for governor and major gains by Democrats in both houses of the General Assembly set the table for progressive legislation when the new session begins in January. Paid family leave, a $15 an hour wage floor, and raising revenue through legalizing marijuana and levying tolls on trucks have been much mentioned, and all are laudable goals. And the flipping to blue of the U.S. House should allow at least for debate on issues like fair pay, immigration reform and others. What’s been almost totally lacking is any talk of how to address the ticking time bomb we face that, if we don’t address it, will make other struggles for racial or gender justice or economic progress much harder.

If the death rate from the flu quadrupled in Connecticut over a four-year period, there would be outrage and demand for immediate action. But what happened when opioid-related deaths more than quadrupled between 2012 and 2016, from 5.7 to 24.5 deaths per 100,000 persons? Although the opioid crisis has certainly garnered significant media attention and public recognition, the skyrocketing opioid death rate hasn’t elicited the same outrage we would expect to see from other public health crises, such as deaths from infectious disease.