[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 4524]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           THE AMERICAN HEALTH CARE ACT AND OPIOID ADDICTION

  (Mr. SCHNEIDER asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SCHNEIDER. Mr. Speaker, across the country, communities are 
struggling with an epidemic of opioid addiction, abuse, and overdose; 
and across party lines, we all agree something must be done to address 
this crisis.
  But the repeal-and-replace plan proposed by my Republican colleagues 
adds fuel to the fire. The bill eliminates the Affordable Care Act's 
requirement that Medicaid cover basic mental health and addiction 
services.
  Economists estimate 1.3 million Americans receive treatment for 
substance abuse and other mental health disorders through the Medicaid 
extension.
  Across the States that have expanded Medicaid, like Illinois, the 
program is used for 27 percent of all addiction treatment.
  We are not going to arrest our way out of this epidemic; instead, we 
need to treat addiction like the disease that it is. Removing the 
mental health coverage requirement pulls the rug out from more than a 
quarter of all those seeking help from opioid addiction.
  Mr. Speaker, opioids now kill more Americans than car accidents. The 
Affordable Care Act offers hope and is saving lives. The Republican 
efforts to repeal the ACA is a bleak step backwards. I strongly urge my 
colleagues to vote against this legislation.

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