Senate Passes Opioid Funding, Mental Health Bill

[Stephan Bobb]

Senate Passes Opioid Funding, Mental Health Bill

Senators Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal.

 (Patrick Raycraft / Hartford Courant)

Russell BlairContact Reporter

Connecticut's U.S. senators say an omnibus health bill that is heading to President Barack Obama's desk is a game-changer and could bring millions of dollars to the state to fight opioid addiction.

The Senate passed the 21st Century Cures Act with a 94-5 vote Wednesday. The House passed the legislation last week, and Obama is expected to sign it.

"In the addiction and mental health world this is a big step forward on resources," Sen. Chris Murphy said in an interview after the vote. While it won't solve all of Connecticut's problems, "it will help us to get some new treatments down to the ground floor of the addiction system," he said.

In addition to $1 billion in new opioid funding over two years, the bill includes the provisions of the separate Mental Health Reform Act of 2016, which Murphy introduced with Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La. Included in that legislation was a strengthening of mental health parity laws, which say insurers have to cover mental health issues the same as physical ailments.

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"This bill now says that if insurance companies are denying treatment for mental health illness at a higher rate ... then they're in violation of federal law," he said. "I think you're going to see hundreds of millions of dollars in additional mental health care be reimbursed after this bill passes."

Federal Bill Passes House With $1 Billion To Fight Opioid Addiction

After holding roundtables across the state about the opioid epidemic, Sen. Richard Blumenthal released a 30-page report in April titled "Opioid Addiction: A Call to Action," that included more than 20 recommendations. Chief among the recommendations was boosting funding for prescription drug monitoring programs and substance abuse programs.

"What I heard in my roundtables is that this opioid addiction epidemic is ravaging families and communities and they need more treatment and recovery resources," Blumenthal said in an interview. "That's the message that came across to me from community leaders and recovering addicts and law enforcement officials who said to me, 'We cannot arrest our way out of this crisis.'"

Murphy: Mental Health, Opioid Funding Bill Will Be Taken Up In Lame Duck

Blumenthal said it was encouraging that lawmakers were able to "put public health above politics" and called the bill a "massive milestone." He said he would continue to fight to make sure Connecticut receives its fair share of the $1 billion in opioid funding.

Connecticut and New England have seen a spike in opioid overdose deaths, including a sharp rise in overdoses attributed to fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is projecting 888 overdose deaths in Connecticut this year, including 488 involving heroin and 446 involving fentanyl.