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Dear Friend,
After a busy week in Washington, I’m back home in eastern Connecticut. Here with an update on local organization's life-saving overdose prevention work and lots more. As always, thanks for starting your weekend here with me.
Encouraging News in Overdose Death Prevention, More Work Ahead
The epidemic of opioid addiction and overdose deaths is one of the most gut-wrenching, disheartening problems our nation faces, and our state is no exception. In Connecticut, overdose deaths rose by 300% from 2012 to 2022, and in New London County alone, we lost 134 people to overdoses in 2021.
I’m committed to bringing home federal resources to help our communities overcome this crisis, and thankfully, we have hard-working organizations on the ground who are partnering with first responders to prevent overdose deaths and connect people suffering from addiction to long term recovery treatment which, in the end, saves lives.
A few days ago, we heard that overdose deaths in New London County fell by nearly 50% in 2023. On Tuesday, I spoke on the House floor to highlight this encouraging news which comes thanks to the work of groups like Reliance Health in Norwich and the New London Overdose Action Team. Watch below.
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| On Tuesday, Rep. Courtney highlighted the work of the New London Overdose Action Team, led by Margaret Lancaster of the Ledge Light Health District, and Reliance Health's Recovery Coaches program, led by Mike Doyle. Click here to watch. |
The keys to prevention efforts in New London and Norwich are increased access to Narcan – a brand of the medication naloxone which treats overdoses – education on overdoses, and peer-to-peer care for those struggling with addiction. In Norwich, Reliance Health’s recovery coaches program has been successful in providing that support. In 2022, I worked with program Director Mike Doyle and CEO Carrie Dyer to expand the program with federal Community Project funding, and in the following year, 2023, the program nearly doubled its reach to community members, distributing 500 Narcan kits and helping limit the number of overdose deaths in Norwich from 34 in 2022 to 18 in 2023.
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| As a 2022 Community Project, Rep. Courtney secured $125,000 in federal funding for Reliance Health to hire additional recovery coaches |
Reliance Health and the New London Opioid Action Team are working street to street in our communities, identifying hotspots in need of attention, and working alongside social service providers, police departments, EMTs, and youth prevention teams. The drop in overdose deaths last year is encouraging news, but we cannot stop. In Congress, we must provide these incredible groups with the resources they need to continue saving lives.
Laying Down the Hammer on National Security
On Monday, the Senate passed a bipartisan National Security Supplemental which includes support for our allies Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan, as well a $3.3 billion investment in the U.S. submarine industrial base. This funding for our shipbuilders and suppliers is critical to the Virginia and Columbia-class submarine programs, but it is being overlooked by some of my colleagues in Congress. On Wednesday, I went to the House floor to highlight the impact of the submarine industrial base investment in the bipartisan supplemental and implore House Speak Mike Johnson to follow the Senate’s lead. Watch below.
Senate passage of the National Security Supplemental comes after a historic victory for the AUKUS security agreement. In December, Congress passed, and the President signed into law, key AUKUS enabling legislation as part of the FY2024 National Defense Authorization Act – including the historic authorization to sell three Virginia-class submarines to our steadfast ally Australia.
The ink is barely dry on that historic victory, but we have more work to do. All eyes are on Congress to see if we continue moving full steam ahead on what is the smartest move we have made to deter conflict in a deteriorating security environment in the Indo-Pacific. In a moment when our friends are desperately looking to America for global and national security leadership, the House must pass the National Security Supplemental. I’m confident that there is significant bipartisan support to do so, and Speaker Johnson must bring the bill to the floor.
In the News: Bipartisan Legislation to Improve Medicare Coverage
Three days spent in the hospital is three days. That’s true whether overnight stays are designated as inpatient or “observation status” – an “outpatient” designation. Medicare should count it the same way.
Unfortunately, hospital stays in observation status are not currently counted toward the required three-day long hospital stay for Medicare to cover skilled nursing care. This outdated rule can lead to exorbitant and unexpected out-of-pocket costs when patients do not qualify for coverage, even if their hospital stay lasts longer than three days and even if their care team prescribes it. I’ve introduced bipartisan legislation to fix this illogical policy.
The Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act ensures that Medicare covers doctor-recommended, post-acute time by counting the time spent under "observation status" towards the requisite three-day hospital stay for coverage. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the three-day stay requirement was temporarily waived – solid evidence that we should eliminate the arbitrary observation status rule for good. It’s simple: quibbling over semantics should not keep people from accessing the care their doctors have prescribed or trap them beneath a mountain of unexpected medical debt.
Tax Season: Improved Service Available Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act & More Resources
No one likes to think too much about filing taxes and certainly not waiting on the phone for the support they need. Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, the IRS has made significant improvements to the services it provides to Americans – making the tax filing process much easier.
The Inflation Reduction Act has provided funding to improve and modernize the IRS. Last year, after Congress passed the bill, wait times on IRS phone support dropped by 27 minutes. This year, more help is available through the toll-free support line and an expanded customer call back feature that has been implemented to significantly reduce wait times. There is also enhanced digital form processing and a pilot, free tax filing service called Direct File, which gives eligible taxpayers the option of filing 2023 federal tax returns online, at no cost, directly with the IRS. Direct File currently is rolling out in stages and should be more widely available in mid-March.
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| Last year, Rep. Courtney met with volunteers at the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance center at Asnuntuck Community College in Enfield. |
Additional in-person support with tax filing is available to qualifying individuals through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and the Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) programs. The programs offer free help with preparing tax returns for people who need it, particularly seniors and people with disabilities. VITA and TCE centers are staffed by volunteers from our communities. In eastern Connecticut, some centers have been operating for decades. To find VITA and TCE centers near you, click here.
Thank you for taking some time to read my update. If we can be of any assistance, don't hesitate to give my Norwich office a call at (860) 886-0139. Have a great weekend!
Sincerely,
Joe Courtney
Member of Congress
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