On Wednesday, October 24, 2018, President Trump signed into a law a bill that is meant to combat the drug addiction crisis in the United States. The bipartisan bill, called the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act, overwhelmingly passed in the House 393-8 and in the Senate 99-1 in September, and on Wednesday it was put forth for the President to pass.
The bill is a response to the significant amount of deaths caused by drug overdose; according to government statistics, about 115 Americans die because of drug overdose, more specifically opioid drugs, everyday. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 72,000 Americans died because of overdose in 2017.
The legislative package increases access to addiction treatment through direct funding for federal agencies and states as well as a lift on restrictions on Medicare and Medicaid coverage. It also includes prevention of overprescription, and training for law enforcement to intercept shipments of deadly drugs like fentanyl at the borders.
Members of both the Democratic and Republican parties support the bill, which is rare. Democratic Senator Maggie Hassan stated, “We have to treat this as a starting point. We have a lot more work to do.” Republican Senator Rob Portman also said, "It will help in terms of both reducing some of this poison coming into our communities, but it also helps with regard to getting people into treatment." The drug crisis in the United States is getting out of control, and this law and the government have the potential to help those affected by the scourge of drugs.
Is this a good step in the right direction to remedy the nationwide drug and opioid crisis?
Could there be better ways the federal government can address it?
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I believe that this is a step in the right direction. This is an issue that is affected our whole country and everyone wants to end this. Our government is showing some initiative and a united front in tackling substance abuse.
ReplyDeleteThat is facts. I also think It's a great initiative especially during the Trump Administration; it's something we all can agree on coming from President Trump.
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