The opioid crisis remains a national public health emergency, Acting Health and Human Services Secretary Eric Hargan  Friday, renewing the administration’s October declaration effective Jan. 24. In November, the President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis released its final report with more than 50 recommendations to address the opioid epidemic. Among other recommendations, the report urged Congress and the administration to block grant federal funding for opioid- and substance-use-disorder-related activities to the states; grant waiver approvals for all 50 states to eliminate barriers to treatment caused by the Medicaid Institutions for Mental Diseases exclusion; better align patient privacy laws specific to addiction with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act; mandate prescriber education to enhance prevention; expand access to medication-assisted treatment; combat illicit fentanyl; enhance data sharing among prescription drug monitoring programs; and enforce the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act.

Related News Articles

Perspective
Public
Congressional lawmakers are heading home for a two-week district work period after both the Senate and House passed a revised budget resolution for fiscal year…
Headline
Story Updated April 5 at 8:30 a.m. ETThe Senate by a vote of 51 to 48 passed its revised budget resolution for fiscal year 2025 with Sens. Rand…
Headline
The AHA and dozens of other organizations yesterday urged House and Senate sponsors of the Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Reauthorization Act to…
Headline
The AHA March 27 voiced opposition to the Physician Led and Rural Access to Quality Care Act (H.R. 2191), a bill that would lift the ban on the establishment…
Headline
The AHA March 11 shared ways Congress could better support patient access to post-acute care in comments for a hearing held by the House Committee on Ways and…
Headline
The House of Representatives March 11 voted 217-213 to pass a continuing resolution to fund the federal government through Sept. 30. The bill also extends…