“U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Angus King (I-ME), Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) today introduced the Budgeting for Opioid Addiction Treatment Act (LifeBOAT), which would establish a permanent funding stream to provide and expand access to substance abuse treatment.
The LifeBOAT Act would establish a 1 cent fee on each milligram of active opioid ingredient in a prescription pain pill to fund efforts to provide and expand access to substance abuse treatment. The bill also includes a rebate program for cancer-related pain and hospice care, and exempts drugs used exclusively for the treatment of opioid addiction. That funding would go towards:
- Establishing new addiction treatment facilities, residential and outpatient.
- Recruiting and increasing reimbursement for certified mental health providers providing substance abuse treatment.
- Expanding access to long-term, residential treatment programs for addicts.
- Establishing and/or operating support programs that offer employment services, housing, and other support services to help a recovering addict transition back into society.
- Establishing and/or operating facilities to provide care for babies born with neonatal abstinence syndrome.
- Establishing and/or operating substance abuse treatment programs in conjunction with Adult and Family Treatment Drug Courts.
Read more at: http://www.huntingtonnews.net/136933
Source: HuntingtonNews.net – May 25, 2016
