Senator Hassan Joins Colleagues in Introducing Bipartisan Legislation to Expand Medication-Assisted Treatment for Opioid Addiction

WASHINGTON – Today, As part of her efforts to combat the fentanyl, heroin, and opioid epidemic and help save lives, Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) joined Senators Ed Markey (D-MA), Rand Paul (R-KY), and Susan Collins (R-ME), in introducing the bipartisan Addiction Treatment Access Improvement Act, to expand access to medication-assisted therapies for opioid addiction. The legislation codifies a 2016 regulation that expanded the number of patients that qualified physicians could treat with life-saving medication-assisted therapies such as buprenorphine from 100 to 275. The legislation also builds upon a pilot program established in the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA), signed into law in 2016, allowing non-physician qualified health practitioners to prescribe buprenorphine, making this authorization permanent and expanding the types of professionals who qualify.

“Medication assisted-treatment is a critical tool to help those struggling with substance use disorder get on the path to recovery and save lives,” said Senator Hassan. “By expanding access to medication assisted-treatment, which thousands of Granite Staters depend on, the bipartisan Addiction Treatment Access Improvement Act is vital to our comprehensive approach to combating the devastating fentanyl, heroin, and opioid crisis. This is not a partisan issue, and I’m grateful to my colleagues from both parties – Senators Markey, Collins, and Paul – for coming together to strengthen access to treatment.”

The first amendment Senator Hassan introduced in the U.S. Senate was an amendment to the FY 17 budget to protect access to medication-assisted treatment for substance use disorders. Senator Hassan is pushing for an additional $25 billion investment over two years as part of long-term budget negotiations to go toward programs that support opioid treatment.

For more information on the bipartisan Addiction Treatment Access Improvement Act, click HERE.

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