Senator Hassan Speaks with Providers, Moms in Recovery About Opioid Addiction Treatment at Dartmouth-Hitchcock

LEBANON – Senator Maggie Hassan yesterday spoke with providers at Dartmouth-Hitchcock about efforts to expand access to medication-assisted treatment, and also met with participants in Moms in Recovery, a program for pregnant or parenting women who are grappling with substance use disorders. Senator Hassan recently introduced bipartisan legislation that would eliminate barriers that currently restrict health care providers from prescribing buprenorphine – a proven medication-assisted treatment – to patients struggling with addiction.

“The opioid crisis is the most pressing public health and safety challenge facing New Hampshire, and medication-assisted treatment is one of the best tools at our disposal to combat this devastating epidemic,” Senator Hassan said. “I received valuable feedback from providers and Moms in Recovery about the importance of expanding access to medication-assisted treatment, and I will continue working across the aisle to ensure that New Hampshire has the resources it needs to help stem the tide of this crisis.”

Later, Senator Hassan hosted a roundtable discussion at Claremont MakerSpace with Granite State businesses about the importance of fostering innovation and supporting entrepreneurship in New Hampshire and across the country. Senator Hassan recently introduced bipartisan legislation to expand the refundable research and development (R&D) tax credit for startups and small businesses.

“I valued the opportunity to hear from businesses about what support they need to grow, in particular the importance of expanding reliable broadband service and workforce development programs,” Senator Hassan said. “Our discussion was invaluable to my efforts in the Senate to ensure that New Hampshire’s businesses have the resources and support that they need to foster innovation and create jobs.”

See below for coverage of the events:

WPTZ: Sen. Hassan visits Dartmouth-Hitchcock's Moms in Recovery program 

[…] On Monday, Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-New Hampshire), visited Dartmouth-Hitchcock's Moms in Recovery program, which is located separately from the Dartmouth-Hitchcock campus in Lebanon. The program's location outside of a hospital is one of the reasons Susan started coming here.

Dartmouth-Hitchcock's Moms in Recovery program is dependent on money that it gets from the federal government. "I'm not sure this program would have been able to, No. 1 one, achieve liftoff, and No. 2, be sustainable at the level it is, without federal funding," said Dr. Joanne Conroy, MD, president and CEO of Dartmouth-Hitchcock.

Though many of the patients at Moms in Recovery are addicted to opiates, providers have recently seen a rise in new patients hooked on other drugs.

In an interview with NBC5, Hassan addressed the facility's observed rise of other addictions, and underscored the importance of obtaining funding in Washington D.C. for the program's services.

"We want to make sure there's flexibility in how that funding is used, so treatment providers can treat substance-use disorder regardless of what kind of substance it is," Hassan said.

Eagle Times: Sen. Hassan visits Makerspace

By Glynis Hart

Sen. Maggie Hassan visited the Claremont Makerspace on Monday to talk about legislation she is sponsoring or working on to foster innovation, entrepreneurship and invention.

Makerspace Director Joshua Bushueff led Hassan on a tour of the makerspace, which she last saw when it opened.

[…]Hassan told the group of entrepreneurs, inventors and craftsmen in attendance about bipartisan legislation she recently introduced that would double the R&D tax credit for startups and extend it to more small businesses.

“At the federal level, I’m trying to make the R&D tax credit applicable for the first few years when nobody’s making a profit yet,” she said.

“I also wanted to check in with how things are going in this part of the state for inventors and entrepreneurs,” said Hassan.

She also mentioned her Gateway to Careers legislation, which aims to assist underemployed or unemployed people wanting to get back in the workforce.

“We’re finding that in many cases people need a couple years of support, maybe help with childcare and transportation issues,” said Hassan.

She said business owners have told her they may hire someone trying to get out of poverty, or recovering from substance abuse, and “three days into the job their car breaks down and they have no money to fix it. So they have to be fired for not showing up.”

Another bill would help small business owners or entrepreneurs get a deferment on their student loans.

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