CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield officials joined Mayor Catherine Pugh Wednesday to announce new efforts to combat the opioid problem in Baltimore City and the region.

The insurance company plans to invest $1.5 million in local non-profits that serve the Baltimore and Washington D.C. area.

CareFirst officials said they also plan to expand recovery centers, implement a program to assist users with both physical and mental health, and limit the amount of drugs prescribed.

"Everybody knows somebody who has been touched by this, we call it, disease. It is a health crisis. And so, to the extent that we continue to work together on these kinds of efforts, I think it will change the outcomes to so many other individuals," Pugh said.

More than 2,000 people died last year in Maryland from opioid overdoses, with more than 700 of those cases in Baltimore alone.