BRUNSWICK, ME– U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) has joined a bipartisan group of his colleagues to introduce the Life Budgeting for Opioid Addiction Treatment (LifeBOAT) Act, which would establish a small stewardship fee paid by drug manufacturers to provide and expand access to substance use treatment. In 2020, over 90,000 Americans died from drug related overdoses, including more than 500 in Maine; both numbers represent new records for the highest year of overdose deaths ever recorded.

“Last year, more than 500 Maine people died from overdoses – a heartbreaking new record for our state,” said Senator King. “We are losing too many loved ones to the opioid epidemic, leaving families and communities suffering in their absence. It’s time for a different approach. We know that treatment can help our friends and neighbors who are struggling with substance use disorders enter recovery and lead – but there simply aren’t enough resources to provide the treatment needed to address this threat.  This legislation can change that, using the source of the problem to help fund a solution. This bill will make critical investments in our nation’s treatment facilities, allowing us to open up more beds, hire more treatment professionals, and take a long-overdue step to save lives.”

This bill would establish a stewardship fee to fund efforts to provide and expand access to substance use treatment through the existing Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant. To pay for this treatment, this bill would establish a 1 cent stewardship fee on each milligram of active opioid ingredient in a prescription pain pill. The bill includes a rebate for cancer related pain and hospice patients and an exemption for opioids used as part of medically assisted treatment.

The funding would be used to improve access to substance use disorder treatment, including but not limited to:

·         Establishing new treatment facilities, residential and outpatient.

·         Recruiting, training, and/or increasing reimbursement for mental health providers providing substance use disorder treatment, particularly in medically underserved or rural communities.

·         Expanding access to long-term, residential treatment programs.

·         Establishing and/or operating support programs that offer employment services, housing, and other support services to help those recovering transition back into society.

·         Establishing and/or operating facilities to provide care for babies born with neonatal abstinence syndrome.

·         Establishing and/or operating substance use treatment programs in conjunction with Adult and Family Treatment Drug Courts.

The LifeBOAT Act is led by Senators Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.) and Mitt Romney (R-Utah), and also supported by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.).