Senate to Vote on Bipartisan Bill to Fight Opioid Addiction

Next week, the Senate is expected to vote on the Opioid Crisis Response Act ― a bipartisan package containing more than 70 proposals authored by relevant committees.

What would it do?

• It’d expand cooperation between agencies to stop illegal drugs at the border and provide flexible grants for states to share prescription drug data to prevent drug diversion.
• It’d clarify that the Food and Drug Administration can set packaging requirements for opioids ― such as a 3 or 7 day supply in a blister pack.
• It’d expand resources for substance abuse treatment under Medicaid, particularly for mothers & children, in addition to including provisions aimed at preventing and treating opioid abuse by Medicare beneficiaries.
• It’d provide funding to advance research and development into new non-addictive painkillers and expedites the process through collaboration between the FDA & drug manufacturers in designing clinical trials.

Why does it matter?

• According to data from our partners at USAFacts, a non-profit civic data initiative, the opioid epidemic resulted in 52,745 deaths from overdoses in 2016 alone compared to 21,204 deaths from non-opioid overdoses.
• Deaths from overdoses on synthetic opioids such as fentanyl have spiked in recent years, accounting for 19,413 of the overdose deaths in 2016 (the most of any type) when they had never caused more than 3,500 deaths in a year prior to 2014.

Tell your senators how they should vote on the Opioid Crisis Response Act and share your thoughts below!

— Eric Revell

(Photo Credit: iStock.com / Tanarch)