BANGOR, ME – During an opioid roundtable discussion at Hope House in Bangor today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) announced his intention to introduce legislation that would update an obsolete federal limit on the number of beds at many drug treatment and recovery facilities. The sixteen bed limit, which was established in law more than 50 years ago, arbitrarily restricts the number of people struggling with drug addiction who are able to access vital treatment. The bill that Senator King unveiled today and intends to introduce in the coming weeks would raise the cap and expand the number of people who could benefit from treatment in facilities like Hope House across Maine.‎

            “For people struggling to cope with addiction, an available bed in a treatment facility can mean the difference between life and death,” Senator King said. “But right now, arbitrary limits enacted into law years ago are preventing people from getting the help they need. That just doesn’t make sense. By raising the bed limit, we can allow facilities like Hope House to expand the great work they’re doing treating people, and in the process, help save lives.”

Under current law, many drug abuse treatment facilities are classified as Institutions for Mental Disease (IMD), which limits them to providing only 16 beds for those seeking treatment – a cap that dates back to 1965 when Congress passed the Medicaid law. The limit was written into law at the time due to concerns that large numbers of people who had recently been released from mental institutions through the deinstitutionalization process would be warehoused in smaller treatment facilities if there was no limit on the number of beds. However, that justification no longer is valid and only prevents those who desperately need treatment from being able to receive it.

Senator King’s legislation, which he will introduce in the coming weeks, will amend federal law to raise that cap to a higher number to be determined in the forthcoming legislation and provide treatment facilities with the flexibility needed to serve people with substance abuse disorders. Doing so will help ensure improved access to treatment for those who need it.

Senator King’s announcement today came during a roundtable discussion with doctors, care providers, and people in recovery at Hope House Health and Living in Bangor. Hope House, a community health center operated by Penobscot Community Health Care, provides treatment and recovery services for those recovering from drug addiction. Senator King also toured the facility following the discussion.

The roundtable today was the third in a series Senator King has convened on the opioid crisis. In November 2015, he convened a roundtable discussion in Portland that focused on efforts to curb unnecessary prescribing of opioid painkillers, and in August 2015, Senator King brought National Drug Control Policy Director Michael Botticelli to Brewer to discuss the crisis with prevention, treatment, and medical officials.

In Congress, Senator King is also a cosponsor of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2015, a bipartisan bill currently being considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee that would encourage states and local communities to pursue a full array of proven strategies to combat addiction. He has also introduced an emergency supplemental funding bill with Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) that would provide a total of $600 million in supplemental appropriations to address the heroin and opioid epidemic through programs at the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Earlier this week, Senators King and Shaheen penned a Fox News op-ed ‎calling for immediate action in Congress.

Senator King and his staff expect to hold additional roundtable discussions in the coming months.

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