Support Mental Health Coverage

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention opioids killed more than 30,000 individuals in 2015. If more services were available for those seeking treatment would the overdose rate continue to rise each year?

H.R. 3254 is the Heroin and Opioid Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 2017. This act provides a range of services for those addicted to opioids. These individuals would have access to outpatient or inpatient treatment facilities, sober living housing, housing for children whose parents are in treatment, facilities for babies born with an opioid addiction, support, and prevention programs. In addition, funding research on opioids and obtaining mental health providers to treat those in underserved and high abuse rate communities are covered in this Act.

These services cost money. The Act would impose a tax on the manufacturers, producers, and importers on active opioids. The tax would be one cent per milligram of opioid. The funds collected would be dispersed to provide essential services to those seeking help.

According to the National Association of Social Workers, service and social justice are two values that are reflected in this Act. There is a lack of resources to supply the demand for treatment. Signing this petition helps get these resources out in the community to balance out the social injustice and create the opportunity to aid in decreasing the overdose rates in the years to come.