Advocacy Alert: Vote for Life-Saving Addiction Treatment

July 28, 2022

via Shatterproof

As the overdose rate continues to soar across the country, our elected federal representatives must prioritize solutions we know will save lives. The Restoring Hope for Mental Health and Well-Being Act of 2022 includes crucial legislation that provides greater access to science-based treatment for people with substance use disorder.

Soon, it will be considered in the Senate.

This important Act includes:

• The MATE Act, which would ensure that doctors who prescribe opioids also know how to prevent addiction and how to identify, treat, and manage patients who have substance use disorders.
• The MAT Act, which would increase access to medication for opioid use disorder by eliminating the separate waiver doctors now need to prescribe buprenorphine for addiction treatment.
• The Collaborate in an Orderly and Cohesive Manner Act, which would provide support to providers who implement the Collaborative Care Model a science-based treatment model for behavioral health, including substance use disorders.

Addiction is a medical illness that health care professionals should know how to treat. But right now, that's often not the case. In a survey of physicians and nurse practitioners, only one in four said they'd received sufficient addiction training during medical education.

Shatterproof has a way to email your Senators with just one click. A reminder, too, that if you want to contact them via phone or snail mail, BHAP has a tool for looking up who your elected representatives are across the United States. Free to use regardless of membership, check out our Find Your Rep Tool.

Questions? Concerns?

As always, we want your input. What topics would you like to see us cover in future Advocacy Alerts? If you are a representative of a state association and have something for us to consider for an Advocacy Alert, let us know!

Did you know BHAP members get regular access to our advocate in Washington, DC? If you have any questions about BHAP's advocacy efforts, please contact us.