Walters Writes to Secretary Price Regarding Growing Opioid Epidemic

Statement

Congresswoman Mimi Walters (California-45) issued the following statement regarding a congressional letter to Dr. Tom Price, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, regarding the bipartisan Comprehensive Addiction Recovery Act of 2016 (CARA).

"Over the last decade, opioid addiction has skyrocketed across the nation. In my district located in Orange County, California, opioid-related drug overdoses and deaths have tragically kept pace with the rapid increase in abuse. Last week, I signed a bipartisan letter to the Secretary of Health and Human Services regarding the implementation of the Comprehensive Addiction Recovery Act (CARA), which provides resources and necessary reforms to address the nation's opioid epidemic.

"CARA seeks to ensure that patients are offered, and physicians are trained on, a full range of FDA-approved treatment options. Prior to this legislation, pain medication treatments were often prescribed based on the patient's setting of care, not the patient's needs. We can no longer accept such casual prescription of these powerful and addictive drugs that often lead to the abuse of illegal substances like heroin.

"I applaud my fellow Members of Congress who remain engaged in our efforts to combat opioid abuse. I am committed to ensuring CARA is fully implemented to put an end to this epidemic, which claims far too many lives."

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