{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.king.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/senate-passes-sweeping-opioid-bill-with-king-backed-provisions", "Senate Passes Sweeping Opioid Bill With King-Backed Provisions", "2018-10-03", "2018", "2018-10", "Independent", "House", "ME", "Angus King", "K000383", "www.king.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  Today, U.S. Senator Angus King\r\n(I-Maine) voted for the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act, which\r\npassed with overwhelming bipartisan support and includes many provisions that\r\nwill help Maine families and communities affected by the opioid crisis. The\r\nlegislation was the result of months of bipartisan hearings and discussion on\r\nthe opioid crisis. Senator King has previously supported several core\r\nprovisions of the legislation, which will improve the federal government's\r\nresponse to the opioid epidemic and lessen negative effects on children,\r\nfamilies, and communities. The bill will now head to the President's desk for\r\nhis signature.  \r\n The opioid epidemic is killing\r\nmore than one person per day in Maine, leaving communities suffering in its\r\nwake and in need of support from the federal government, said Senator King.\r\nThis bill takes a multi-pronged approach that will increase treatment\r\nopportunities, strengthen law enforcement efforts to crack down on drug dealers\r\nand smugglers, and give communities the tools they need to support their\r\ncitizens struggling with substance use disorders. I've met with Maine people in\r\nrecovery, parents of those struggling with substance use disorders, treatment\r\nproviders and law enforcement officials across the state, each of whom has\r\nshared a unique story with a common message: this disease is hurting Maine\r\npeople, families, and communities. This is not about partisanship  it's about\r\nsupporting our friends, neighbors, and loved ones who are currently caught in\r\nthe midst of a disease they cannot control. Today's legislation is a\r\nstrong step to help those battling addiction, but must not be the end of this\r\neffort  there are still too many people who need help.   Specifically, Senator King has\r\nbacked the following core values of the legislation: \r\nPermanent\r\nExpansion of Base of Opioid Treatment Professionals Allowed to Prescribe\r\nMedication-Assisted Treatment: Senator\r\nKing is a cosponsor of the Addiction Treatment Access Improvement Act, which\r\npermanently authorize nurse practitioners and physician assistants to prescribe\r\nmedication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorders. Under current\r\nlaw, these medical professionals are allowed to administer MAT until October 1,\r\n2021; this new legislation would permanently authorize these professionals to\r\nadminister MAT. This provision was not a part of the package the Senate\r\nvoted on last month, prompting Senator King to go\r\nto the Senate floor and advocate for its inclusion in the final package. \r\nReauthorization\r\nof the 21st Century Cures Act: Senator King was an outspoken advocate for funding\r\noriginally provided by the 21st Century Cures Act, which provides\r\ncritical opioid funding for states and tribes. The SUPPORT for Patients and\r\nCommunities Act will reauthorize and improve grants to states and\r\nIndiantribes for prevention, treatment, and recoveryto\r\nmitigatethe opioid crisis, authorized in 21stCentury\r\nCures, for three more years. \r\nInclusion\r\nof CRIB Act Provision:\r\nSenator King is a lead sponsor of the CRIB Act, which allows Medicaid to cover\r\ncare for infants with neonatal abstinence syndrome in residential pediatric\r\nrecovery centers.  \r\nIncentives\r\nfor Students to Pursue Substance Use Disorder Work: The legislation includes a loan\r\nforgiveness program for students who agree to work as substance use disorder\r\ntreatment professionals in areas that have been hit hardest by drug overdoses.\r\nThe provision is based on the Substance Use Disorder Workforce Loan Repayment\r\nAct of 2018, which Senator King cosponsored.  \r\nIncreased\r\nMedicaid Coverage for Residential Treatment Programs: The legislation enables state\r\nMedicaid programs to cover care in residential treatment facilities for\r\nMedicaid beneficiaries aged 21 to 64. Under current law, the Institutions for\r\nMental Disease (IMD) Exclusion limits residential treatment facilities to 16\r\nbeds in order to receive federal reimbursement; the legislation removes the IMD\r\nexclusion, allowing residential treatment facilities to expand their treatment\r\ncapacity without losing federal reimbursement. The legislation reflects\r\nprovisions of the Improving Coverage for Substance Use Disorder Recovery\r\nExpansion Act, which Senator King introduced. \r\nEmpower\r\nCommunities to Combat Crisis:\r\nThe bill reauthorizes the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy\r\n(ONDCP) as well as its associated grant programs, such as the Drug-Free\r\nCommunities Program and the High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Program. Senator\r\nKing co-sponsored the Substance Abuse Prevention Act of 2018, which included\r\nthe provision to reauthorize ONDCP. He also\r\nwrote a letter to the White House last year urging\r\nthe administration to maintain funding for the office.\r\nReduction\r\nof Use and Supply:\r\nSenator King is a co-sponsor of the STOP Act, which will help stop illegal\r\ndrugs at the border by requiring the postal service to obtain advance\r\nelectronic data for international mail and provide that data to Customs and\r\nBorder Protection.  Senator King has made combating the\r\nopioid crisis one of his top priorities in Washington. In July, Senator King hosted\r\na panel of medical professionals, employers and advocates to\r\ndiscuss the opioid crisis and reduce the stigma surrounding Substance Use\r\nDisorders (SUDs). That same month, he met with the US Department of Agriculture\r\n(USDA) Assistant to the Secretary for Rural Development, Anne Hazlett, and a\r\nnumber of medical professionals, law enforcement officers, advocates and local\r\nleaders ata Bangor\r\nroundtable discussing the opioid epidemic's impact on rural Maine.\r\nIn June, he highlighted the importance of the Affordable Care Act's protections\r\nfor individuals with pre-existing conditions to those struggling\r\nwith substance use disorders which is considered a pre-existing\r\ncondition, so those who seek treatment could then be denied coverage or charged\r\nexorbitant rates based on their past substance use. He has repeatedly called on\r\nCongress and both the Obama and Trump administrations to fund laws and agencies\r\nthat help address the drug epidemic. Senator King has held several\r\nroundtables throughout Maine  from Portland to Bangor to Milo to Paris  and\r\nhas spoken with health professionals, first responders, community members, and\r\npeople in recovery to find ways to help people get better and make Maine\r\ncommunities safer and healthier. He has also joined a group of his Senate\r\ncolleagues towrite\r\nto the nation's top health insurers urging them to do their part\r\nto combat the opioid epidemic.In an effort to hold the insurance industry\r\naccountable, the Senators asked the companies to both review their existing\r\npolicies in light of the epidemic, and to take additional steps to make sure\r\nthey are working actively to help curb addiction.In the FY 2018 Omnibus\r\nFederal Appropriations bill which passed in March, Senator King supported a\r\nprovision which increased funding to fight the opioid and mental health crises\r\nby $3.3 billion, including an increase of $2.8 billion in treatment, prevention\r\nand research for programs within the Department of Health and Human Services.\r\nAlso, in November 2017, Senator King led aletterto the Trump Administration\r\nurging additional funding for the opioid epidemic, and in\r\nOctober 2017 he joined a group of colleagues to introduce theCombating\r\nthe Opioid Epidemic Act, legislation that would invest $45\r\nbillion for prevention, detection, surveillance and treatment of opioids.", 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.king.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/senate-passes-sweeping-opioid-bill-with-king-backed-provisions"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4531672932207584, "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"}