End SUD Endorses The Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment Act

AUSTIN, Texas, Feb. 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, bipartisan members of Congress re-introduced the Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment Act ? legislation that will help build universal access to lifesaving treatment for opioid use disorder. The bill, which won the support of over 100 members of Congress last session and was included in President Biden's plan on the opioid crisis, can save tens of thousands of Americans every year from overdose deaths.

The Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment Act will help ensure every person with opioid use disorder has access to one of the gold standards of care: buprenorphine. Buprenorphine cuts the risk of overdose death in half and helps secure long-term recovery. Buprenorphine is a safe medication that has been FDA-approved for nearly twenty years and is available in generic form.

But as few as 1 in 5 Americans with opioid use disorder have received buprenorphine due to onerous federal burdens on healthcare providers who treat patients with opioid use disorder. Women, persons of color, veterans, and rural Americans all lack equal access to buprenorphine due to the structural health disparities caused by current federal law.

"The Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment Act is a common-sense solution to the overdose crisis that will increase participation in treatment, help eliminate stigma, and reduce healthcare and criminal justice costs," said Erin Schanning, President of End SUD and a big sister who lost her little brother to an overdose. "The bill is rooted in the simple truth that substance use disorder is not a moral failing but rather a medical condition that we can prevent and treat with healthcare."

End SUD thanks Senators Maggie Hassan and Lisa Murkowski and Representatives Paul Tonko, Michael Turner, Antonio Delgado, and Anthony Gonzalez for their leadership to build access to safe, high-quality treatment that can help the 2.3 million Americans with opioid use disorder recover.

To learn more about the Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment Act, visit www.endsud.org/mat-act

About End SUD

End SUD is a national, nonpartisan campaign that advances policies to prevent and treat substance use disorder. The nonprofit advocacy organization leads coalitions of healthcare and behavioral health providers, people and families with substance use disorder, harm reduction advocates, law enforcement officers, social justice leaders, and local and state officials that serve millions of Americans. Learn more at www.endsud.org

SOURCE End SUD