“This bill is a major victory for Ohio and for the country because it will strengthen the federal government’s response to the opioid crisis,” Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), who helped put together the legislation, said in a statement after the Senate vote. “Importantly, this bill will increase access to long-term treatment and recovery while also helping stop the flow of deadly synthetic drugs like fentanyl from being shipped into the United States through our own Postal Service.” On the other side of the debate, Leana Wen, M.D., the former health commissioner of Baltimore (and incoming president of Planned Parenthood), said that the legislation “is simply tinkering around the edges.” Daniel Raymond, director of policy and planning for the Harm Reduction Coalition, said the bill is a case of too little, too late. “This is an election year bill to show they are doing something.That’s not always a bad thing, but I do think to some degree it’s a political document,” Raymond told the Washington Post. “When you drill down into it, it’s not that there aren’t good ideas, but it doesn’t reach the level of, this is what our nation needs right now.” The act authorizes a grant program through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to allow organizations to develop opioid recovery centers in a community. It also requires the Department of Health and Human Services to determine best practices and then create a grant program implementing those policies or procedures, such as the use of recovery coaches, which has proven effective in Massachusetts.
It also authorizes HHS to develop grants to support people who are in recovery transition to independent living and jobs, as well as develop a pilot program to provide temporary housing for those recovering from substance abuse. One of the most significant parts of the bill provides measures to prevent synthetic opioids like fentanyl from entering the U.S. According to the Centers for Disease Control, total opioid deaths did not increase in 2017, but deaths due to fentanyl overdoses did. Data shows the drug, which is about 50 times more potent than heroin, caused nearly 30,000 fatal overdoses last year. The bill also takes steps to increase access to medication-assisted treatment. It removes the cap on the number of patients to whom a qualified doctor can prescribe drugs like buprenorphine, a drug proven effective at limiting opioid cravings and easing withdrawal, from 100 to 275, and expands a grant program allowing first responders to administer medication-assisted treatments.
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