Summary
On October 14, President Trump signed the Substance Use Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities Act (SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act) (H.R. 6) into law. The legislation is composed of more than 70 bills from both Republicans and Democrats including provisions intended to ease the opioid epidemic by increasing access to effective treatment within Medicaid and Medicare, expand alternative non-opioid pain management options, reduce over-prescribing, educate patients, identify best practices that can effectively address the epidemic in the future, and more.
Our colleagues Billy Wynne and Dawn Joyce published a blog in partnership with the California Health Care Foundation outlining key provisions of the Opioid Package and what they mean for health and healthcare.
Given the level of interest in the legislation and the opioid epidemic in general, attached we have provided a more in-depth memo that builds upon the blog.