Last week, Representatives David B. McKinley, P.E. (R-WV-01) and Lori Trahan (D-MA-03) reintroduced the Medication Access and Training Expansion (MATE) Act, which would require all DEA controlled substance prescribers, who are not already addiction specialists, to dedicate at least eight hours of training on treating patients with opioid or substance use disorder (SUD). The bill would also require certain professional schools to incorporate addiction medicine education to their curricula and would authorize the federal government to provide grants to schools to develop trainings and curricula for prescribers on how to identify and treat SUDs. In a press release, Representative McKinley said, "Ensuring that physicians and other prescribers have the tools and knowledge available to them to identify and create an effective treatment course for patients with substance use disorder is critical to getting the opioid crisis under control."
Representative Trahan added, "Congress has an obligation to undertake a holistic approach to ending the addiction crisis that has taken far too many lives already. That can't happen without understanding addiction's root causes and the stigma associated with seeking out help. The MATE Act will ensure that medical professionals across the nation have standardized training that not only ensures a strong understanding of addiction, but also gives them the tools necessary to identify, treat, and manage patients with substance use disorders." This bill was previously introduced in the House during the 116th Congress.
Articles & Resources
Representative David B. McKinley, P.E. – McKinley Introduces Bipartisan Legislation to Combat Prescription Opioid Abuse
Representative Lori Trahan – Trahan Leads Reintroduction of Bipartisan Legislation to Tackle Root Causes of Addiction Crisis
H.R.4974 - MATE Act of 2019