January 21, 2023

Dear Friends,

Our nation is in the midst of an overdose epidemic.  In 2021, an estimated 108,000 people died of a drug overdose in the United States, the highest number ever recorded and a 15% increase from the previous year.  With drug overdoses now the leading cause of death for Americans under the age of 50, this crisis continues to devastate families and communities in every part of our country.  Now more than ever, we must rise together to meet the unprecedented scale of this crisis.

In my conversations over the years with care providers, advocates, and individuals in recovery, it became clear that one of the greatest factors exacerbating this crisis is the lack of access to treatments for substance use disorders, especially medication-assisted treatments.  With studies showing that just 1 in 5 individuals with an opioid disorder are getting the treatment they need, expanding access could save countless lives.  With that knowledge, I set to work crafting my bipartisan Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment (MAT) Act.  And after years of hard work and advocacy, my bill was signed into law by President Biden in December, marking a big step forward in our efforts to make certain that proven treatments are available to all those who need them.

For two decades, buprenorphine has been used as a safe, effective, and life-saving treatment for those suffering from substance use disorders.  But until now, medical professionals were required to obtain a specialized waiver from the DEA in order to prescribe buprenorphine to treat patients suffering from addiction.  Thanks to this outdated requirement, the law made it easier for practitioners to prescribe highly addictive opioids than to actually treat their patients.  My MAT Act removes this bureaucratic hurdle, massively expanding treatment access and making it easier for healthcare providers to integrate substance use treatment into primary care settings.  After France took similar action to make buprenorphine available without a special waiver, opioid overdose deaths declined by 79 percent over a four-year period.  This is sound, common-sense policy that will save lives across our nation.

On Wednesday, I visited New Choices Recovery Center in Schenectady to meet with advocates and individuals in the addiction and recovery community.  During our conversation, I was deeply moved to hear directly from community members about their personal experiences with addiction, and about how medication-assisted treatments like buprenorphine have helped them on their roads to recovery.  I was especially encouraged to hear about the impact the MAT Act will have on reducing the longstanding stigma surrounding substance use treatment.  With the elimination of burdensome waivers, we will soon see more and more practitioners integrating this proven substance use treatment into their practices.

There can be no doubt that we are making significant progress in fighting the disease of addiction.  The MAT Act is now the law of the land, and I’ve also delivered direct funding to help communities and families face this crisis through the reauthorization of the critical Substance Use Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Services Block Grant for another five years.  But there is still more work to be done to improve access and to support our most vulnerable communities.

My bipartisan Medicaid Reentry Act aims to close the treatment gap by allowing states to restart benefits for Medicaid-eligible incarcerated individuals up to 30 days prior to their release.  Due to reduced tolerance for opioids and lack of effective treatment options in prisons and jails, former inmates are uniquely vulnerable to overdoses.  In fact, individuals reentering society after incarceration are 129 times more likely to die of a drug overdose in the first two weeks after release than the general population.  This legislation will help significantly in easing transitions to community care, saving many more lives without actually expanding Medicaid eligibility.  I won’t stop pushing to advance this legislation without delay.

We are still far from solving this crisis, but I am greatly encouraged by our progress in recent weeks.  I’m confident that with more hard work in Washington and with the continued advocacy of the addiction and recovery community, we can do even more to help those suffering from the disease of addiction.

As always, thank you for reading.

Your friend,

DID YOU KNOW?

My office and I are working to make sure you remain informed with the latest updates and recommendations from federal agencies.  With that in mind, here is some information that may be of interest to you:

• This week, the Internal Revenue Service’s Free File Guided Tax Preparation service went live and is ready for taxpayers to use.
• Seven tax preparation partners will provide IRS Free File online products this year to taxpayers or families who earned $73,000 or less in 2022.
  • For 2023, the following providers are participating in IRS Free File: 1040Now, ezTaxReturn.com, FileYourTaxes.com, On-Line Taxes, TaxAct, FreeTaxUSA, and TaxSlayer
• To find the right IRS Free File product for you, you can take the following steps:
  • 1) Go to IRS.gov/freefile,
  • 2) Click on Use Free Guided Tax Preparation.  Then select IRS Free File Online Lookup Tool, or
  • 3) Use the Browse All Offers tool to review each offer,
  • 4) Select the best product for you,
  • 5) Follow the links to the provider’s website to begin your tax return.
• No computer?  No problem.  IRS Free File products support mobile access, so taxpayers can do their taxes on their smartphone or tablet.
• To learn more about this service, click HERE.