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U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown
Treating Opiate
Addiction in Ohio Communities
Addiction to opioids, like prescription painkillers and heroin, has
increased significantly in the past few years, devastating communities
across Ohio – rural, suburban, and urban. In 2012, a record 1,914
Ohioans died from accidental drug overdose – an average of five Ohioans
each day – and 680 of those deaths can be attributed to heroin use.
Frustratingly, the doctors willing to help address this crisis have
federal restrictions placed on the number of patients they can treat
for this dangerous addiction.
Currently, physicians who meet specific training requirements are
limited to treating a maximum of only 30 patients in the first year.
After that year, the number of patients they can treat increases to
only 100, leaving millions of Americans dependent on opioids without an
option for medication-assisted therapy.
We’ve got a problem when it’s easier for Americans to get heroin than
it is for them to get help to break their addiction. We need to
increase the number of opioid addiction treatment providers available
and allow providers with a proven track record of success to treat more
patients. I cosponsored The Recovery Enhancement for Addiction
Treatment (TREAT) Act to give healthcare providers the flexibility they
need to help heal communities struggling with widespread opioid
addiction.
The TREAT Act would increase the number of patients a physician can
initially treat from 30 to 100 patients in the first year and permit
nurse practitioners and physician assistants with the proper training
to treat addicted patients, again up to 100 per year. It would also
allow providers, after one year, to request to treat more than 100
patients, so long as they meet certain training requirements.
Opioid use is a public crisis in Ohio, and we need to address this
problem before it puts more lives in danger. This legislation would
ensure Ohioans get the help they need before it’s too late.
Sincerely,
Sherrod Brown
U.S. Senator
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