WASHINGTON— U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), joined President Trump at the White House today as he signed into law the Opioid Crisis Response Act (H.R. 6), bipartisan legislation that includes several provisions authored by Cassidy to combat the opioid crisis.
“Just went to a White House ceremony with President Trump and Melania Trump, she also spoke regarding how do we address the issue of opioids. A big bill, by giving states and communities the resources to hopefully make lives better and to decrease the use of illegal drugs. Congress working for the United States of America,” said Dr. Cassidy in a video posted to Facebook following the ceremony.
Cassidy provisions included in the Senate bill include:
- Provisions from CARA 2.0, legislation introduced in February
- Sec 7031: Directs the Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary to issue best practices for recovery residences
- Sec 7024: Instructs HHS to deliver a report on the effect instituted fill limits on prescriptions has on addiction
- Sec 7002: Provides first responders with training to prevent accidental exposure to fentanyl
- Sec 3014: Institutes interoperability for Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Customs and Border Protection technology used to detect and seize illicit drugs at the border
- Sec 3013: Expands FDA authority for refusing illicit substance shipments based on recognition of a pattern in shipments
- Sec 3204: Allows for the direct administration of injectable/implantable buprenorphine, expanding access to medication-assisted treatment
- Sec 7053: Provides greater awareness of permitted patient information disclosures during medical emergencies, specifically overdoses, under federal privacy laws (including Part 2 and HIPAA)
- Sec 7162: Allows states to use prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) grant dollars to create a real-time system to track overprescribing and abuse
- Sec 2005: the COMBAT Act – Allows Medicare to pay for opioid use disorder treatment
- Sec 1015: the Opioid Addiction Treatment Programs Enhancement Act – Requires HHS to publish state-level Medicaid data related to the treatment of substance use disorders to help states better identify successful treatment programs
- Sec 1016: the Better Data Sharing to Combat the Opioid Crisis Act – Allows state Medicaid agencies access to PDMP data to improve patient profiles to ensure better patient management
- Sec 5022: the CHIP Mental Health and Addiction Parity Act – Requires state Children’s Health Insurance Programs (CHIP) to cover mental health benefits, including substance use disorder services for eligible pregnant women and children
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