Congress just passed, and the president is about to sign landmark legislation to combat the opioid crisis. This 600+ page bill is the result of months of negotiations by dozens of members of congress from 8 House Committees and 5 Senate Committees. Experts agree that it will save lives.

But what’s in the bill? Great question.

H.R. 6, The SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act, authored by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden, is a comprehensive bill that attacks the opioid epidemic from every angle. The efforts can be generally fit into 4 categories: Treatment and Recovery, Prevention, Protecting Communities, and Fighting Fentanyl - a synthetic drug that can be 100 times more potent than heroin.

Below are a few key elements in each category included in H.R. 6. You can see a full section-by-section of the bill HERE.

Treatment and Recovery

• Funds comprehensive opioid recovery centers (Section 7121)


• Improves treatment for babies born suffering from opioid addiction (Sections 1005, 1007, 1012, 7061-7065)


• Removes a decades-old barrier to care by allows state Medicaid programs to provide treatment in an IMD for patients with substance use disorder (Section 5052)

Prevention

• Encourages development and use of non-addictive opioid alternatives to treat pain (Sections 3001, 6082, 7041)


• Improves data to identify and help at-risk patients and families (Sections 1016, 3271-3274, 7021)


• Addresses high rates of opioids being prescribing while enhancing prescription drug monitoring programs (Sections 1016, 6092-6093, 6095, 7161-7162)

Protecting Communities

• Better intercepts illicit opioids at international mail facilities (Sections 3014)


• Strengthens law enforcement tools to get dangerous drugs out of our communities (Sections 3281-3282, 3291-3292, 7002)


• Improve access to federal resources for local communities (Sections 1003, 3203, 3251-3260, 7021, 6052, 6083, 7073, 7102, 7134, 7181)

Fighting Fentanyl

• Reduces the influx of deadly, illicit synthetic opioids at the border (Sections 8002-8009)


• Provides grants for local communities to combat fentanyl (Sections 7011, 7181)


• Better tackle ever-changing synthetic drugs (Sections 3241, 7001, 7011)

With more than 70 major provisions, this comprehensive bill takes a real step forward in the fight against opioid abuse, misuse, and overdose, which is why President Trump said he looks forward to signing this historic legislation.

To learn more about this legislation, click HERE.

To read the full text of the legislation, click HERE.

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