SUD Crisis

Federal agencies and Congress should dramatically expand the distribution of Naloxone, the lifesaving opioid overdose reversal medication, utilizing the widespread distribution of Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) for heart attacks as a possible model.[1][2] Policymakers should ensure that no-cost naloxone is available to respond to opioid overdoses.

The Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) should use the waiver process established by Section 1135 of the Social Security Act to temporarily modify Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) requirements to augment treatment capacity and loosen Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) restrictions to allow notification to families of persons who have overdosed and been revived.[1]

Congress should create a grant program to support state planning efforts to establish efforts like California’s Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment (CARE) Act that help individuals with untreated mental health and substance use disorders (MH/SUDs) avoid homelessness, incarceration, and even death. Planning grants should be tied to ensuring strong protections of individuals’ rights and system accountability.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) should ensure availability of critical medications to treat mental health and substance use disorders (MH/SUDs) through telehealth prescribing without burdensome in-person requirements that restrict access, particularly in rural and other underserved communities.

The Administration should move without delay to lift the Contingency Management limit of $75 per patient per year.

Congress should pass the Behavioral Health Crisis Services Expansion Act to ensure communities have the resources they need to provide services for people experiencing a mental health or substance use (MH/SUD, or “behavioral health”) crisis.[1][2]