{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.kaine.senate.gov/press-releases/kaine-weighs-in-on-national-strategy-to-prevent-opioid-abuse", "Kaine Weighs In On National Strategy To Prevent Opioid Abuse", "2014-12-23", "2014", "2014-12", "Democrat", "House", "VA", "Tim Kaine", "K000384", "www.kaine.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Kaine Weighs In On National Strategy To Prevent Opioid Abuse\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTuesday, December 23, 2014\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senator Tim Kaine joined 20 of his colleagues to write a letter to Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Sylvia Mathews Burwell on the national strategy to address opioid abuse being developed by HHS. In the letter, Kaine and his colleagues urged HHS to focus on overdose education, access to substance abuse treatment services, and the distribution of naloxone, an antidote that stops the effects of an opioid overdose for a short period of time. Specifically, they encouraged HHS to expand surveillance and data collection around opioid abuse and include innovative ways to integrate naloxone into the health care delivery system. \u00a0\r\n\u201cGiven our shared concern about the growing rate of overdose deaths associated with heroin and prescription painkillers, we urge HHS to ensure that overdose prevention, specifically through the use of naloxone and other similarly effective drugs, figures prominently in the 2015 National Drug Control Strategy, as well as the Administration\u2019s Fiscal Year 2016 budget proposal,\u201d the Senators wrote. \u201cDespite the life-saving capabilities of naloxone, its use in overdose prevention is not widespread.\u00a0 A comprehensive plan for reducing overdose deaths should include adequate financial assistance for state and local governments, as well as community organizations, to purchase and distribute naloxone to first responders, law enforcement officials, medical facilities, and members of at-risk individuals\u2019 communities.\u201d \u00a0\r\nThis summer, Kaine participated in a Project REVIVE training session\u00a0in Lebanon, where he and other participants learned how to administer naloxone. He also recently visited Richmond-based pharmaceutical company Kal\u00e9o, which received FDA approval for its new naloxone auto-injector delivery system\u00a0 EVZIO\u2122.\u00a0 Kaine co-sponsored the\u00a0Opioid Overdose Reduction Act bipartisan \u201cGood Samaritan\u201d legislation that would protect individuals from civil liability who prescribe naloxone.\r\nIn June, Kaine joined 11 members of the Virginia Congressional Delegation to\u00a0call on Governor McAuliffe\u00a0to establish a statewide task force to address the growing heroin epidemic in Virginia. Governor McAuliffe answered their call by forming a task force in September. Kaine has also raised concerns over drug abuse in Virginia\u00a0with White House Drug Policy Acting Director Michael Botticelli\u00a0and\u00a0in a letter to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, which focused on the recent FDA approval of Zohydro ER and how it could potentially heighten the public health risk of opioid abuse in Virginia.\r\n\u00a0\r\nFull text of the letter can be found below:\r\nThe Honorable Sylvia Mathews Burwell\r\nSecretary\r\nU.S. Department of Health and Human Services\r\n200 Independence Avenue, SW\r\nWashington, DC 20201\r\n\r\nDear Secretary Burwell:\r\nWe commend the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for its commitment to develop a multi-pronged national strategy aimed at preventing opioid abuse.\u00a0 Given our shared concern about the growing rate of overdose deaths associated with heroin and prescription painkillers, we urge HHS to ensure that overdose prevention, specifically through the use of naloxone and other similarly effective drugs, figures prominently in the 2015 National Drug Control Strategy, as well as the Administration\u2019s Fiscal Year 2016 budget proposal.\u00a0 We look forward to a strong focus on overdose education, naloxone distribution, and access to substance abuse treatment services and other follow-up care.\r\nDespite the life-saving capabilities of naloxone, its use in overdose prevention is not widespread.\u00a0 A comprehensive plan for reducing overdose deaths should include adequate financial assistance for state and local governments, as well as community organizations, to purchase and distribute naloxone to first responders, law enforcement officials, medical facilities, and members of at-risk individuals\u2019 communities.\u00a0\u00a0 We know that expanding naloxone access to a broader population can reverse drug overdoses and save lives, particularly when accompanied by education and training in overdose prevention and naloxone use. \u00a0\u00a0\r\nIn addition, we encourage HHS to expand surveillance and data collection around opioid abuse and best practices in the field.\u00a0 Most programs at the federal level focus on prescription drug misuse, abuse, and diversion.\u00a0\u00a0 The national strategy HHS is developing should shift that focus to better understand how local efforts \u2013 and federal programs and policies \u2013 can prevent these unnecessary opioid overdose deaths and it is our hope that the FY2016 budget will support those efforts. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\r\nThe plan should also include innovative ways to integrate naloxone into the health care delivery system.\u00a0 For example, HHS could establish best practices for co-prescribing naloxone with opioids for high-risk populations and ensure Medicaid coverage for all forms of naloxone.\u00a0 Another component of the plan should address recent price increases for commonly used formulations of naloxone by seeking to secure stable and affordable supplies of the drug.\r\nMoreover, HHS should implement measures that connect overdose survivors and others in need of treatment with broader systems of care.\u00a0 While demand for services has grown dramatically, provider shortages, coverage barriers, and affordability prevent many from getting treatment.\u00a0 Initial reforms could include removing government restrictions that prevent drug treatment centers with more than 16 beds from billing Medicaid for services provided to beneficiaries and issuing guidance to payers regarding policies for lengths of stay and treatment intensity at substance abuse treatment facilities and addressing policies that limit healthcare professionals from treating patients in need of medication assisted therapies for addiction.\u00a0 While the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act ensures higher levels of coverage for these services, the law does not provide details on duration or intensity of treatment, resulting in variable and insufficient treatment policies across payers.\r\nToo many Americans have been lost to opioid overdose. We look forward to your leadership in developing a strategy that provides resources to improve overdose education, naloxone distribution, and substance abuse treatment services.\u00a0 We appreciate your consideration of these proposals and look forward to your response.\r\nSincerely,\r\n\u00a0\r\nSenator Tim Kaine\r\nSenator Richard J. Durbin\r\nSenator Jack Reed\r\nSenator Patrick Leahy\r\nSenator Dianne Feinstein\r\nSenator Sherrod Brown\r\nSenator Barbara Boxer\r\nSenator Robert Casey\r\nSenator Ben Cardin\r\nSenator Amy Klobuchar\r\nSenator Bernard Sanders\r\nSenator Sheldon Whitehouse\r\nSenator Kirsten Gillibrand\r\nSenator Al Franken\r\nSenator Mark Udall\r\nSenator Mark Warner\r\nSenator Richard Blumenthal\r\nSenator Cory Booker\r\nSenator Edward Markey\r\nSenator Elizabeth Warren\r\nSenator Mazie Hirono\r\n\u00a0\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.kaine.senate.gov/press-releases/kaine-weighs-in-on-national-strategy-to-prevent-opioid-abuse"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.1788872070610523, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}