WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) today joined a bipartisan group of her Senate colleagues in introducing the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) 3.0 to increase the funding authorization levels for the Comprehensive Addiction & Recovery Act (CARA) programs enacted in 2016, and put in place additional policy reforms to help combat the opioid epidemic that has worsened during the coronavirus pandemic.

“Despite our needed focus on the COVID pandemic and the other challenges facing our nation, we must remain committed to addressing the substance use disorder epidemic which continues to impact far too many of our communities,” Senator Capito said. “The rise in overdose deaths we have seen over the past year in West Virginia and across the country must be reversed and the progress we were seeing in combating addiction resumed. I believe this bipartisan legislation will provide the resources necessary to achieve these goals and help individuals and families find the help they desperately need.”

CARA was a bipartisan, national effort designed to ensure that federal resources were devoted to evidence-based education, treatment and recovery programs that work. In FY 2021, CARA programs were funded at $782 million. Several key provisions of CARA 2.0 were enacted as part of the SUPPORT Act on October 24, 2018. CARA 3.0 builds on these efforts by increasing the funding authorization levels and laying out new policy reforms to strengthen the federal government’s response to this crisis. 

The text of CARA 3.0 bill, authored by U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio), can be found here.

SUMMARY:

CARA 3.0 Policy Changes:

  • New research into non-opioid pain management alternatives.
  • New research on long-term treatment outcomes to sustain recovery from addiction.
  • Establishes a National Commission for Excellence in Post-Overdose Response to improve the quality and safety of care for drug overdoses and substance use disorders.
  • Requires physicians and pharmacists use their state PDMP upon prescribing or dispensing opioids.
  • Mandates physician education on addiction, treatment, and pain management.
  • Prohibits states from requiring prior authorization for medication-assisted treatment under Medicaid.
  • Establishes a pilot program to study the use of mobile methadone clinics in rural and underserved areas.
  • Removes the limit on the number patients a physician can treat with buprenorphine and methadone.
  • Creates a sense of Congress that an employee using medication-assisted treatment is not in violation of the drug-free workplace requirement.
  • Permanently allows providers to prescribe medication-assisted treatment and other necessary drugs without a prior in-person visit, and to bill Medicare for audio-only telehealth services.
  • Expands access to federal housing for individuals who have misused substances or have a drug-crime conviction.
  • Incorporates changes in grant programs to gather more data on who receives services to achieve more equitable outcomes across race and socioeconomic status and emphasizes delivering culturally competent services. 

CARA 3.0 Authorization Levels:

  • $10 million or more to fund a National Education Campaign on the dangers of prescription opioid misuse, heroin, and lethal fentanyl.
  • $55 million for training and employment for substance abuse professionals, including peer recovery specialists and $5 million set aside for workforce retention efforts.
  • $60 million for community-based coalition enhancement grants to address local drug crises.
  • $300 million to expand evidence-based medication-assisted treatment (MAT).
  • $200 million to build a national infrastructure for recovery support services to help individuals move successfully from treatment into long-term recovery.
  • $100 million to expand treatment for pregnant and postpartum women, including facilities that allow children to reside with their mothers.
  • $20 million to expand Veterans Treatment Courts.
  • $10 million for a National Youth Recovery Initiative to develop, support, and maintain youth recovery support services.
  • $50 million to provide quality treatment for addiction in correctional facilities and in community reentry programs. 
  • $30 million for deflection and pre-arrest diversion programs in the criminal justice system.

 

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