Energy and Commerce Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) submitted the following statement for the record at the opening of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) Conference Committee:
The opioid abuse epidemic is taking a tremendous toll on families and communities across the country. Opioid addiction is an indiscriminate killer. Every day, 78 Americans lose their fight against this epidemic, including victims that are young and old, rich and poor, of all races and genders, and from all regions of the country. While it is too late to save those who have lost their lives to this public health crisis, Congress has a responsibility to do all that we can to prevent a similar fate for those who are currently battling opioid addiction, and we must work to prevent people from becoming addicted in the first place.
The conference report does not sufficiently address this growing epidemic. I strongly support provisions that expand access to treatment services, but they will largely remain just that - ideas - if we do not provide the federal funding necessary to help states and local communities respond to the crisis.
Those on the front lines of the crisis have been clear about the urgent need for immediate funding. The National Governor’s Association and 182 advocacy groups have written to us urging us to include federal funding in this package. We should listen to them, and add the funding.
While I have serious concerns about the lack of funding in this conference report, there are two specific policies that are included that I believe are critically important to our response to this epidemic. We need an all hands on deck approach to this crisis and that is why I strongly support the provision allowing nurse practitioners and physician assistants to treat individuals with opioid use disorders with buprenorphine.
The conference report also clarifies that a doctor or patient may request that a prescription for a Schedule II substance, such as an opioid, be partially filled. This important change could help reduce the amount of opioids dispensed unnecessarily, reduce the number of unused pills in circulation, and therefore reduce the risk of opioid misuse, diversion, and overdose.
In closing, while there are important provisions in this conference agreement that will help us begin to address this epidemic, we cannot and should not approve any conference report that does not provide funding. House and Senate Democratic conferees have put forward bipartisan pay-fors that we all support - so there is no excuse for us failing to make the federal investments necessary to begin to turn the tide on this public health crisis. I hope that my Republican colleagues will agree to work with us to pass a final conference report that fully tackles this epidemic.
