Join the November All-Participants Meeting at 3PM Eastern Today with Presentations from ONDCP and Congressional Speaker
CEPOP will be hosting its November All-Participants Teleconference today at 3:00pm EST. Today’s meeting will include presentations from Peter Gaumond from ONDCP and from Brad Korten from the Office of Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12). Mr. Gaumond will present on the recently released Recovery-Ready Workplace Toolkit and Mr. Korten will present on the Workplace Overdose Reversal Kits (WORK) to Save Lives Act. Please contact Sanjyot Sangodkar for meeting details.
Legislation to Increase Access to Substance Use Treatment
On November 16th, Senator Susan Collins (ME) and Ben Cardin (MD) introduced the Supporting Seniors with Opioid Use Disorder Act, which would advance education and awareness among Medicare beneficiaries and health care providers of coverage for opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment services. The legislation would put into law the 2021 recommendations made by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) aimed at improving Medicare beneficiaries’ awareness of Medicare coverage for opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment. The recommendations include requiring Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to engage with Medicare beneficiaries to increase awareness about Medicare coverage for the treatment of opioid use disorder, providing the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) with data about the number of Medicare beneficiaries diagnosed with OUD and receiving medication-assisted treatment, and requiring HHS to convene a stakeholder meeting to share best practices on behavioral therapy among beneficiaries receiving medication to treat OUD. In a press release, Senator Cardin said, “Medicare plays a key role in supporting older adults and people with disabilities struggling with substance use disorder. Our bipartisan legislation will support Medicare beneficiaries to reduce disparities in access to opioid use disorder treatment and services that best fit their needs.”
Articles & Resources
Senator Susan Collins – Collins, Cardin Introduce Bill to Improve Seniors’ Access to Substance Use Treatment
What We Read Last Week
Several articles were published last week pertaining to the opioid epidemic, covering a variety of different components of the topic. Links to relevant articles are provided below.
Pharma Phorum – A forgotten opioid epidemic, but a mounting problem
VOA – Biden Highlights Efforts with China, Mexico to Combat Fentanyl
This Week’s Calendar
In the week ahead, there are no relevant events or hearings noticed at this time. In the event that there are any changes to the schedule for this week, we will make additional information available.
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