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A bipartisan effort to stem the opioid crisis, while impressive, does not have enough to stem the national opioid crisis, advocates say.
On Monday, September 17, the Senate passed a series of 70 bills – totaling $ 8.4 billion – with a vote of 99 to 1 on various aspects of the opioid crisis. The only dissident was Senator Mike Lee of Utah.
The goal was to tackle the opioid crisis from different angles – for example, broadening access to treatment and preventing illicit drug deliveries from abroad – but not everyone is impressed by the legislation. expansive.
Joy Burwell, President and CEO of the National Council for Behavioral Health, who represents US health care organizations that provide mental health and substance abuse services, expressed her organization's disappointment: "The Congress missed this opportunity for the drug treatment system of our country. "
According to Mr. Burwell, one of the ways to do this would be to include the Mental Health and Addiction Treatment Expansion Act, a bill that would expand the current program that has improved the quality of life. access to drug treatment services.
However, all bills passed in the Senate do not meet their expectations. "None of the bills plans to bring the only thing that communities affected by the opioid crisis need the most: funding," Burwell wrote in a statement. "Nor do they offer a comprehensive solution to the country's dependency crisis."
The legislative package includes various measures to combat drug abuse. They include expanding access to opioid medications (such as buprenorphine); funding for recovery centers that provide temporary housing, vocational training and other supports during the transition to recovery; expand the reach of mental health professionals where they are scarce; expand naloxone programs for first responders; and prevent illicit drugs from being shipped through the US Postal Service.
Senator Rob Portman of Ohio admitted that the legislation lacked coins. "He does not understand everything we want to see, but he has important new initiatives and it's a step in the right direction," he said. Washington Post. "Congress is committed to putting politics aside. It's not just bipartite – I think it's non-partisan.
According to To post, the House adopted a similar measure in June. Both chambers will now review the differences before sending the package to Trump.
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