The U.S. House of Representatives on June 12 approved bipartisan legislation proposed by U.S. Rep. Steve Stivers (R-OH) that would target federal funds toward evidence-based prevention programs and activities for opioid use and mental health disorders.
“Today, the House took an important step forward in ensuring people are receiving evidence-based treatment for drug addiction,” the congressman said following the House approval.
H.R. 5272 would receive an amended title to read: “A bill to provide additional guidance to grantees seeking funding to treat or prevent mental health or substance use disorders,’’ according to a revised draft text of the bill provided by Rep. Stivers’ office.
H.R. 5272, known in the congressional record as the Reinforcing Evidence-based Standards Under Law in Treating Substance Abuse (RESULTS) Act of 2018, would ensure U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) funded programs and activities to prevent or treat mental health or substance use disorders are evidence based, according to the congressman’s office.
“In Ohio and across the country, opioids have derailed careers, broken friendships, separated families, and taken lives,” said Rep. Stivers. “Those who have sought treatment have already taken a tremendous step in the right direction, and we owe it to them to help them get their lives back.”
Rep. Stivers introduced H.R. 5272 on March 14 with U.S. Reps. Barbara Comstock (R-VA) and Eliot Engel (D-NY) as original cosponsors. U.S. Reps. Brad Wenstrup (R-OH), Jim Renacci (R-OH), Bruce Poliquin (R-ME), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and Greg Walden (R-OR) also were among the 11 members who signed on as cosponsors.
If enacted, H.R. 5272 would direct the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) at HHS to issue guidance to grantees seeking federal funding for these specific prevention programs, according to a statement from Rep. Stivers’ office.
“Our legislation will ensure those seeking federal funding to treat or prevent mental health or substance use disorders have the resources they need to implement evidence-based solutions to the opioid crisis and emulate approaches that we know work,” Rep. Engel said. “Hard-working Americans are fighting this epidemic in our communities, and we must make sure they have the tools they need to be successful.”
H.R. 5272 also would require SAMHSA to issue and periodically update guidance for entities applying for any federal grant to encourage increased use of evidence-based treatments, according to the summary, and SAMHSA would have to help grantees design their substance use treatment programs to include the most-recent science.
Additionally, the measure would require SAMHSA to inform grantees on how to best identify and communicate the effectiveness or outcome of their program or activity in efforts toward advancing the development of a catalogue of treatment options with proven success that could be utilized by other grantees.
“With drug overdoses taking the lives of over 4,000 Ohioans in 2016 alone, the drug epidemic is truly taking its toll on our communities,” Rep. Stivers said in March when he introduced H.R. 5272. “We need to combat the opioid epidemic holistically, and ensuring people receive effective treatment is an important aspect.”
The bill now heads to the U.S. Senate for its consideration.