House Subcommittee on Health to Vote on the Support for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act

Today, July 13^th, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health will hold a markup of 17 bills, including HR 4531 - the Support for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act. This bipartisan legislation would reauthorize key parts of the SUPPORT Act of 2018, including programs focused on prevention, treatment, and recovery for patients with substance use disorder, as well as a permanent extension of Medicaid’s required coverage of medications for opioid use disorder and related counseling services. Of note, the legislation would reauthorize the STAR Loan Repayment Program through Fiscal Year 2028. STAR-LRP is a highly popular program that helps recruit and retain substance use disorder professionals.

The hearing can be watched online here. 

Bill text can be found here.

A section by section summary of the bill can be found here.

While ASAM applauds this progress, it will continue to advocate for the addition of policies that would help expand Medicaid coverage for evidence-based, residential substance use disorder treatment services, further amend Medicaid’s Inmate Exclusion Policy, and responsibly expand access to methadone for the treatment of opioid use disorder.