Every day, more than 115 Americans overdose and die from opioid misuse
Casey bill would help Americans with opioid use disorder afford medication, access outpatient treatment
Washington, D.C. – As the opioid crisis continues to ravage the country, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) is introducing legislation to lower costs for the many millions of Americans seeking opioid treatment, including life-saving medication and outpatient treatment programs. The Maximizing Opioid Recovery Emergency Savings (MORE) Savings Act would eliminate costs for opioid treatment and recovery support services for people with private insurance plans and for people enrolled under a new Medicare pilot program, while increasing federal funding for Medicaid treatment programs.
“Recovering from an opioid use disorder can be expensive, isolating and daunting. I want to ensure that when a person seeks out treatment, they are not turned away by prohibitive costs or other barriers,” said Senator Casey. “By eliminating those costs, this legislation would begin to provide a measure of relief to the millions of people struggling with opioid use and get more Americans on the road to recovery.”
Specifically, the MORE Savings Act would:
- Require insurers offering individual or group health insurance to cover prescription drugs and behavioral health services used to treat opioid use disorders and to reverse overdoses, as well as recovery support services in conjunction with treatment at no cost.
- Establish a 5-year pilot program in 15 states to eliminate costs for people using Medicare for prescription drugs and behavioral health services used to treat opioid use disorders, to reverse overdoses and to provide for community recovery support services.
- Provide a robust Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) increase for Medicaid programs to provide prescription drugs and behavioral health services used to treat opioid use disorders, to reverse overdoses and to provide for community recovery support services.
This legislation is supported by the Drug & Alcohol Service Providers Organization of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Recovery Organizations Alliance.
Read more about the MORE Savings Act here.
