-Source-The Hill-
The House will vote on legislation aimed at fighting the opioid epidemic next week, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) announced Wednesday.
The chamber will vote on dozens of bills over a period of two weeks.
“This epidemic is destroying America, the fiber of who we are,” McCarthy said Wednesday in announcing the votes.
“It will take us two weeks to finish this process, but at the end of the day we'll continue to make America safer and more secure and more prosperous,” he added.
Many of the bills are relatively minor on their own, but they seek to fight the epidemic of opioid overdoses in a variety of ways.
One of the more far-reaching measures lifts some limits on Medicaid paying for care at treatment facilities for people with opioid addiction, something known the IMD exclusion, a long-held goal for many advocates.
That bill is sponsored by Rep. Mimi Walters (R-Calif.), who is facing a tough reelection race this year. Passage of opioid bills could be touted by many lawmakers in their bids to be reelected.
Some Democrats have warned that the money could be better spent on other forms of care rather than keeping people overnight in treatment centers. It is not yet clear what the cost of the measure will be, and changes to the version that was voted out of committee could be needed. Read more
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