Lawmakers in both chambers of Congress introduced a bill Tuesday intending to fight the ongoing opioid epidemic plaguing regions of the United States.
The bipartisan bill includes plans to support development of non-addictive painkillers and lift restrictions on Medicaid payments at treatment centers. In addition, the bill plans to hinder illegal opioids from entering the country through international mail and provide additional resources to communities in states like Wisconsin with widespread opioid abuse.
The bill features priorities proposed by U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., who intertwined provisions from her Opioid Response Enhancement Act introduced earlier this year.
“With this bipartisan legislation we are providing an increase in funding for opioid abuse treatment and prevention that can help make sure Wisconsin communities and health officials have the tools they need to confront the opioid crisis and save lives,” Baldwin said in a statement earlier.
Additionally, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services announced an additional $24 million federal grant was awarded to combat the state’s opioid crisis.
Although the array of initiatives are a step forward in combating the opioid epidemic, other lawmakers argue the bill is not extensive enough.
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., submitted their own bill earlier this year that would provide more than $100 billion in federal funding toward addiction resources over 10 years.
Warren and Cummings’ Comprehensive Addiction Resources Emergency, or CARE, Act would allocate more funds over a longer period of time in hopes of sustaining the progress in the long term.
“We can’t defeat the opioid crisis with empty words and half measures,” Warren said earlier this year. “Our bill will funnel millions of dollars directly to the hardest-hit communities and give them the tools to fight back. Congress has acted before to root out an epidemic when it finally took action against HIV/AIDS — and Americans across the country are counting on us to do the same today.”
