Peters Introduces Bipartisan Legislation to Expand Access to Opioid Addiction Treatment for Adolescents
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) introduced bipartisan legislation today to reauthorize funding for a grant program he championed that expands access to opioid addiction treatment for adolescents. Peters’ bipartisan Youth Prevention and Recovery Reauthorization Act would build on previous legislation he introduced that was signed into law in 2018 as part of the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities (SUPPORT) Act that established the Youth Prevention and Recovery Initiative to make an existing substance abuse program available for young adults. The legislation introduced today would reauthorize funding for the initiative within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to ensure this critical resource remains available to adolescents, families, care providers, and communities.
According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA), more than 695,000 American adolescents used opioids for nonmedical reasons in 2018, up by more than 400,000 since the last study was conducted in 2015. In December 2022, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported that monthly drug overdose deaths nearly tripled among adolescents age 10 to 19 years during the first 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic. In Michigan, deaths from opioid overdoses have increased roughly 18 times from 1999 – 2021, when there were more than 2,800 overdose deaths.
“The opioid epidemic is devastating communities in Michigan and across the country, and it’s tragic that the hundreds of thousands of young people suffering from this addiction are struggling to get the care they need,” said Senator Peters. “I’m pushing for the reauthorization of this critical program to expand lifesaving addiction treatments and resources for adolescents to help set them on a path toward recovery.”
The Youth Prevention and Recovery Initiative provides funding to hospitals, local governments, and other eligible entities to increase access to opioid addiction medications for adolescents and young adults who have been diagnosed with opioid use disorder, improve local awareness among youth of the risks associated with fentanyl, and train healthcare providers, families, and school personnel on the best practices to support children and adolescents with opioid use disorder.
The use of certain medications – such as buprenorphine – has been shown to be a safe and effective treatment for opioid addiction and improves success rates for continuing treatment and recovery. Medication assisted treatment (MAT) with buprenorphine and other effective drugs is an essential public health tool to prevent future loss of life for those suffering from opioid addiction. However, MAT is often designed for adults, making it more difficult for adolescents to access this proven treatment.
Peters’ Youth Prevention and Recovery Reauthorization Act would reauthorize the Youth Prevention and Recovery Initiative, which has provided three-year grants to youth-focused entities for carrying out substance use disorder treatment, prevention, and recovery support services. The legislation also expanded an existing youth substance use disorder program at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to include services for young adults as well as children and adolescents. The authorization of the program, and the SUPPORT Act, expired on September 30, 2023.
The following organizations have endorsed Senator Peters’ Youth Prevention and Recovery Reauthorization Act: American Academy of Pediatrics, American Psychiatric Association, American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American Academy of Addition Psychiatry, and the Partnership to End Addiction.
Below are statements in support of Peters’ legislation.
“We applaud Senator Peters and Senator Capito for their commitment to expanding access to life saving substance use disorder treatment for youth and adolescents, particularly for racially and ethnically marginalized populations. Research supports treating patients, including youth, with opioid use disorders with FDA-approved medications as the gold standard and we believe this legislation is a critical first step towards improving access to services and better outcomes,” said Larissa Mooney, MD, President of the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry.
“Despite the availability of safe, effective, and lifesaving treatment, adolescents and young adults with substance use disorders face significant barriers accessing medication for addiction treatment. By reauthorizing SAMHSA's Youth Prevention and Recovery Initiative, the bipartisan Youth Prevention and Recovery Reauthorization Act would make needed progress to help ensure young people can access this vital treatment, while also addressing the unique barriers they too often face in getting the care they need. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) calls on Congress to advance this important legislation and thanks Senator Gary Peters (D-Mich.) and Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) for their leadership on this issue,” said American Academy of Pediatrics President Sandy Chung, MD, FAAP.
“While it is incredibly difficult for anyone with addiction to access effective treatment, adolescents have exceedingly limited treatment options. In the midst of an unrelenting opioid crisis that is claiming the lives of far too many young people, it is critical for the federal government to provide resources to make evidence-based treatment, such as medications for the treatment of opioid use disorder, more widely available,” said Lindsey Vuolo, Vice President of Health Law and Policy, Partnership to End Addiction.
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