U.S. House Passes Anti-Addiction Bills
May 14, 2016
By: Tom Troy, Toledo Blade
May 14, 2016
A set of 18 bills that should give local medical and law enforcement workers new tools in combating an opioid and heroin addiction epidemic was approved Friday and earlier this week by the U.S. House of Representatives.
The bills are expected to be merged with the Comprehensive Addiction & Recovery Act already passed in the Senate in March by a 94-1 vote.
U.S. Sen. Rob Portman (R., Ohio), co-author of the CARA bill, who has complained about a lack of action by the House on the legislation, said the House bills bring Congress closer to passing needed legislation.
“While I remain concerned that the House approach is not truly comprehensive I am hopeful we can resolve our differences rather quickly,” Mr. Portman said in a statement.
The differences between the series of House bills and the CARA are expected to be worked out in a conference committee. A spokesman for Mr. Portman said the senator will insist that CARA be included in any final agreement.
U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D., Toledo) said the bills, once approved by a committee, will help address the crisis, including providing more detox beds and Medicaid eligibility for those who qualify.
“This is a very helpful first step. Our part of Ohio is one of the most impacted regions in the country,” she said.
Lucas County reported 113 heroin and fentanyl-related deaths in 2015, she said.
She said drug deaths have overtaken traffic accidents as the leading cause of accidental death in Ohio.
The bills still need emergency funding to help law enforcement officers, public health officials, community leaders, and educators do their jobs, supporters say.
Opioids include prescription pain medication and heroin.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, opioids were involved in 28,647 deaths in the United States in 2014, which includes alarming increases in deaths from heroin and synthetic opioids such as fentanyl.
The Obama Administration submitted a proposal in February for $1.1 billion in new funding to address the epidemic and to expand access to treatment for prescription opioid abuse and heroin use.
The funding also would support the placement of substance use disorder treatment providers in the communities most in need, and would continue to build effective, evidence-based treatment programs, the administration said.