07/15/2016

Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) passes Senate

The Senate overwhelmingly voted (92 to 2) to adopt the conference report accompanying S. 524, the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA).  The Senate’s action follows the House, which voted to adopt the report last week (407 to 5).

CARA takes a number of important first steps to address the opioid crisis plaguing the country.  Noteworthy provisions include:

• Provides grants to expand access to life-saving opioid overdose reversal drugs (such as naloxone) and to expand access to addiction treatment services, including evidence-based medication-assisted treatment.
• Provides grants to community organizations to develop and enhance recovery services and build connections with other recovery support systems.
• Provides grants to states to carry out comprehensive opioid abuse response, including education, treatment, and recovery efforts, prescription drug monitoring programs, and efforts to prevent overdose deaths.

A full summary of the conference report may be found here.

We anticipate that President Obama will sign this legislation into law. The American Psychiatric Association will continue working with Members of Congress to ensure that the programs authorized by this legislation are adequately funded to ensure their effectiveness.