Bipartisan Opioid Bill with Key New Hampshire Priorities Heads to President's Desk for Signature

Statement

The Senate today passed major bipartisan legislation to combat the deadly opioid epidemic in New Hampshire and across the country. The legislation, the Substance Use Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities Act (SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act), includes key New Hampshire priorities that Senator Hassan fought to include in order to strengthen prevention, treatment, recovery, and law enforcement efforts. This bipartisan legislation has passed the U.S. House and now heads to the President's desk for signature.

"The bipartisan SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act will help save lives and strengthen our efforts to combat the deadly opioid crisis that is ravaging our communities," said Senator Hassan, who helped develop the legislation as a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. "This bipartisan legislation gives communities and families the support that they need and have called for. However this fight is far from over. The minute that the President signs this legislation into law, we must begin working on the next bill to help strengthen treatment, prevention, recovery, and law enforcement efforts. The urgency of this crisis demands nothing less."

The bipartisan legislation includes a number of measures that Senator Hassan either authored or cosponsored to help turn the tide of this epidemic and save lives, including ensuring that states hardest-hit by the epidemic like New Hampshire receive their fair share of resources; establishing comprehensive recovery centers for those struggling with addiction; expanding access to medication-assisted treatment; giving nurse practitioners and physician assistants permanent authority to prescribe medication-assisted treatment; expanding medication-assisted treatment prescribing authority to additional advance practice registered nurses; improving recovery housing opportunities; supporting law enforcement in their efforts to curb the shipment of deadly fentanyl into the United States from other countries through the postal service; crack down on bad actors in the pharmaceutical industry; and more.

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