DeWine calls for drug treatment expansion

DeWine is leading an effort urging the House of Representatives to pass the “Road to Recovery Act.”

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine is leading an effort of 39 Attorneys General urging the U.S. House of Representatives to pass a bill that they say will make drug treatment more affordable and accessible.

The Attorneys General are pushing for the passage of the “Road to Recovery Act,” which would eliminate the Medicaid Institutions for Mental Diseases (IMD) exclusion for substance use disorder and help states expand access to inpatient treatment for Medicaid enrollees.

Current law limits use of Medicaid funding for residential mental health or substance abuse treatment to facilities with just 16 or fewer beds.

“America’s opioid crisis is getting dramatically worse,” the Attorneys General wrote in their Oct. 2 letter to congressional leaders. “A recent study indicates that drug overdoses claimed as many as 65,000 American lives in 2016, a 24 percent increase from the year before.”

Ohio saw more than 4,000 overdose deaths in 2016, a 33 percent increase over 2015.

“People often develop opioid addiction through prescribed medical usage, with no intent by the patient to engage in abusive behavior, simply because of the addictive properties of opioid drugs,” they wrote. “Drug addiction is a disease, not a crime. If we truly want to end this crisis, we need to focus on its root causes, including lack of treatment for those suffering from addiction.

The Road to Recovery Act is sponsored by Pennsylvania Republican Brian Fitzpatrick, who introduced the legislation in June.

“The ‘IMD exclusion’ blocks access to treatment for people who need inpatient treatment for addiction, including some of society’s most vulnerable: veterans, pregnant addicted women, women with dependent children, and low-level drug offenders,” Fitzpatrick said.

The bill has bipartisan support. The President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction also supports the bill.

“If we have any hope of reversing this terrible trend, we need every treatment option at our disposal,” the Attorneys Generals wrote.