The opioid crisis continues in the U.S., despite a recent decline in overdose deaths, and medically assisted treatment has proven to be one of the best ways to treat opioid use disorder. Now, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich has introduced legislation aimed at making it easier for patients to get one of these medications, buprenorphine.
Under the proposed law, the medication, which is more commonly known by the brand name Suboxone, would be removed from a prescription monitoring program that’s used to track other, stronger opiate prescriptions like oxycontin and fentanyl as well.
“We need an all-hands-on-deck approach to tackle this epidemic with the urgency that it demands,” Heinrich said, “which includes eliminating barriers that providers and patients face in accessing life-saving medication.”
The federal government took steps in 2022 to remove a designation from buprenorphine that brought increased scrutiny from the Federal Drug Enforcement Administration. Now the Broadening Utilization of Proven and Effective Treatment for Recovery Act, or BUPE for Recovery Act, introduced by Heinrich in the Senate, and U.S. Representative Paul Tonko from New York in the House would go a step farther.
The law would remove buprenorphine from the Suspicious Orders Reporting System, “ensuring that patients receive timely and effective treatment for opioid use disorder,” Heinrich said. “This will help save lives and it will get New Mexicans the care they need.”
Heinrich was one of 17 senators in 2023 who sent a letter to the Drug Enforcement Administration calling on the agency to remove barriers to access for buprenorphine.
Heinrich is seeking re-election this November and is facing Republican opponent Nella Domenici. Domenici’s campaign did not respond to request for comment on her position regarding medication-assisted treatment before air, but she has publicly supported “better care and more resources for those facing mental health struggles’ including substance use disorders.
A 2021 study found that nearly half of New Mexico hospitals lacked buprenorphine.
Support for this coverage comes from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
