Bipartisan senators reintroduce bill to establish opioid manufacturing fee to fund addiction service

Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Angus King (I-ME), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Tina Smith (D-MN) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) recently announced reintroduction of the bipartisan Life Budgeting for Opioid Addiction Treatment (LifeBOAT) Act. The bill would establish a one-cent stewardship fee for opioid manufacturers and importers for each milligram of active opioid ingredient in a prescription pain pill. The funds collected from the stewardship fee would then be allocated to the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment (SAPT) Block Grant to support treatment efforts including: establishing new residential and outpatient substance use disorder (SUD) facilities; recruiting, training, and increasing reimbursement for SUD providers; expanding access to long-term residential programs; establishing or operating support programs offering employment services, housing, and other support services; establishing or operating facilities to provide care for babies born with neonatal abstinence syndrome; and establishing treatment programs in conjunction with drug courts.

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