ASAM Submits Policy Recommendations for Inclusion in Possible Senate HELP MH/SUD Legislative Package

On November 15th, ASAM submitted comments in a letter to the U.S. Senators Patty Murray and Richard Burr, Chair and Ranking Member of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), containing policy recommendations for inclusion in a possible Senate mental health and substance use disorder (MH/SUD) legislative package. The comments were based on HR 7666 - the Restoring Hope for Mental Health and Well-Being Act of 2022, which has already passed the U.S. House on a bipartisan basis. The letter voices ASAM's support for many provisions of the Restoring Hope Act, that would, among other things, reauthorize key Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA) and Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) programs to address the national MH and SUD crisis. Importantly, it includes ASAM's recommendation that Section 4 of S.3629 - the Opioid Treatment Access Act of 2022, which would allow addiction specialist physicians to issue prescriptions for methadone for opioid use disorder, be included in any Senate HELP MH/SUD legislative package.

Read the letter here.