[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 6 (Tuesday, January 10, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S215-S216]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 85. Ms. HASSAN (for herself, Mr. Brown, Mrs. Shaheen, and Ms.
Baldwin) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by her to the
concurrent resolution S. Con. Res. 3, setting forth the congressional
budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2017 and
setting forth the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2018
through 2026; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the end of title IV, add the following:
SEC. 4__. POINT OF ORDER AGAINST LEGISLATION THAT WOULD
WORSEN THE OPIOID EPIDEMIC BY REDUCING ACCESS
TO MEDICATION ASSISTED TREATMENT FOR SUBSTANCE
USE DISORDER.
(a) Point of Order.--It shall not be in order in the Senate
to consider any bill,
[[Page S216]]
joint resolution, motion, amendment, amendment between the
Houses, or conference report that would reduce access to
medication assisted treatment for substance use disorders,
including opioid addiction, by making changes to the policies
enacted by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
unless the Congressional Budget Office certifies that such
changes would not--
(1) reduce or limit Federal funding for medical assistance
provided by States to low-income, non-elderly individuals
under the Medicaid eligibility option established by the
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act under section
1902(a)(10)(A)(i)(VIII) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
1396d(a)(10)(A)(i)(VIII)) or result in fewer individuals
receiving such assistance under such option (including the
1,600,000 Americans with substance use disorders who
currently receive such assistance and were uninsured prior to
the establishment of such option);
(2) reduce the expansion of coverage resulting from the
individual market consumer protections of the Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act, including protections for
individuals with pre-existing conditions, the establishment
of behavioral health as an essential health benefit, the
expansion of mental health parity and addiction equity law to
the individual market, and coverage of preventive services
without cost-sharing;
(3) reduce the number of Americans enrolled in public or
private health insurance coverage, as determined based on the
March 2016 updated baseline budget projections by the
Congressional Budget Office;
(4) increase health insurance premiums or out-of-pocket
costs for Americans with private health insurance coverage;
or
(5) reduce the scope and scale of benefits covered by
private health insurance plans pursuant to the requirements
of title I of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
and the amendments made by that title.
(b) Waiver and Appeal.--Subsection (a) may be waived or
suspended in the Senate only by an affirmative vote of three-
fifths of the Members, duly chosen and sworn. An affirmative
vote of three-fifths of the Members of the Senate, duly
chosen and sworn, shall be required to sustain an appeal of
the ruling of the Chair on a point of order raised under
subsection (a).
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