April 17, 2021
Dear Friends,
As our nation works to overcome each new obstacle on our path to crushing this virus, we are reminded that our success will require tackling not only the physical and economic harms of COVID, but also the many places where those harms have rippled outward—creating new and worsening existing crises in the process.
That includes worsening mental health challenges and a dangerous spike in overdose deaths resulting from untreated, or under-treated, addiction. Alarming new estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show more than 87,000 Americans died of drug overdoses during the 12-month period ending September 2020.
The Energy & Commerce Health Subcommittee held a hearing on the issue this week where I pushed to advance two bold addiction treatment bills I have been steadily moving forward for several years now to combat America’s worsening opioid crisis.
My Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment (MAT) Act confronts these alarming numbers by removing pointless barriers preventing medical professionals from providing medication-assisted treatment. Crucially, it removes the long-outdated ‘X-waiver’ required for physicians to prescribe buprenorphine to their patients living with opioid use disorder. This useless prerequisite increases the harmful stigma surrounding this disease, as doctors are not required to complete this waiver to prescribe buprenorphine for any other illness.
In addition to the MAT Act, my Medicaid Reentry Act empowers states to restore Medicaid coverage for incarcerated individuals up to 30 days before they are released—addressing data that show individuals released from incarceration are 129 times more likely to die of a drug overdose during the first two weeks after release. Restoring this coverage would also mean that individuals leaving jails and prisons could access COVID testing and vaccinations that very same day.
These two bipartisan bills would fast-track long-overdue lifesaving resources to struggling Americans, and have been widely praised among addiction treatment advocates as some of the most effective policy actions we can take to quickly and comprehensively reduce opioid deaths.
Regular readers of this newsletter will know that I have long advocated to expand mental health care and coverage for all Americans. The mental toll of this pandemic also must not be ignored. During my recent COVID telephone town hall, a number of callers asked what Congress is doing to address the added burdens this pandemic has placed on so many of us.
I was grateful for the opportunity to share some of the details of my COVID-19 Mental Health Research Act, legislation that would jump-start a nationwide assessment of the mental health impacts of this pandemic, especially on our kids who we know are suffering uniquely, and our health care workers whose sacrifices will stay with them the rest of their lives.
We need to be there for them now and long into the future. That starts with taking the action necessary to recognize the unique and often hidden costs they have been facing.
Just as importantly, we need to understand the toll this pandemic has taken on every American. That means getting to the bottom of these challenges and taking action to support our neighbors and communities who are most in need.
I won’t stop pushing to move smart bipartisan legislation forward to ensure we deliver hope, compassion and a path forward for our fellow Americans.
As always, thank you for reading.
Your friend,
DID YOU KNOW?
Throughout this pandemic, my office and I have worked to make sure you remain informed with the latest updates and recommendations on any and all COVID-19 related topics. With that in mind here is some information that may be of interest to you:
- The Internal Revenue Service is encouraging low and moderate-income individuals and families, especially those who don't normally file a tax return, to use IRS Free File to prepare their own federal tax return, e-file it and get a refund—all available for free.
- This year's federal tax filing deadline for individuals originally set for April 15 has been postponed to May 17, 2021.
- Free File offers free access to brand-name tax software to anyone who makes $72,000 or less, and is accessible to people experiencing homelessness, students who are now on their own, low-and moderate-income families and others a fast and easy way to access these benefits.
- Individuals can access this service at IRS.gov/freefile.
- Those unable to access a computer can use a mobile phone, as IRS Free File products also support those devices.
- See the special section on IRS.gov—Claiming the 2020 Recovery Rebate Credit if you aren't required to file a tax return—for more information. Look for a Free File product with "no minimum income" and file electronically and choose direct deposit.
