Turn the Tide Act 2019-07-11 Introduced in Senate Turn the Tide Act

This bill funds through FY2023 the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act, which established various programs to address opioid addiction. Funded programs include (1) grants to increase access to substance use disorder treatments; (2) research, training, and developing best practices within the public health sector; (3) prevention and recovery services for youth, women, and infants; (4) overdose prevention and treatment; and (5) other community, judicial, and administrative programs. The bill also reauthorizes through FY2024 and increases funding for the Opioid State Targeted Response grants program and reauthorizes through FY2029 and increases funding for the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant program.

Further, the bill prohibits health insurance plans, including Medicaid, from requiring prior authorization for medication-assisted treatment for opioid addiction. Plans also must cover at least one overdose-reversing drug without any cost-sharing requirement. The bill also revises Medicaid to require state payments to providers of mental and behavioral health services for substance use disorders and extends funding for demonstration projects that link provider payments to certain metrics. The bill also targets loan repayments for substance use disorder treatment professionals to states with the highest rates of drug overdoses.

Additionally, separate payment classifications must be established for specified procedures covered by Medicare that utilize non-opioid drugs to treat pain after surgery. The bill also (1) establishes grant programs to support responses to children exposed to trauma, (2) expands support for the drug-free communities program, and (3) funds peer-mentoring pilot programs for law enforcement agencies.

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