President Trump Signs O'Halleran Provisions into Law

Press Release

Today, President Donald Trump signed H.R. 6, the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment (SUPPORT) for Patients and Communities Act, which includes provisions introduced and championed by Congressman Tom O'Halleran (AZ-01).

Included in the final bill is the Rural DOCS Act, which was introduced by O'Halleran, and the ROOT Act, which was introduced by Rep. Diane Black (TN-06) and O'Halleran.

"Across this country, Americans are falling victim to a epidemic that knows no boundaries, and today our bipartisan work to address this crisis was signed into law. I am pleased to see two of my policies received broad support from my colleagues in Congress and were included in the final bill that was signed into law today.

"There is still a great deal of work to do that requires a strong partnership with local and state leaders who are at the forefront of this battle. This law is an important first step, and I look forward to continuing to hold roundtable discussions, tours, and meetings with law enforcement and community groups working in Arizona to combat this issue."

The bipartisan Rural DOCS Act creates a multi-year demonstration program for up to 10 states with high overdose rates to receive enhanced Medicaid funds to strengthen provider networks across the full continuum of care, including innovative wraparound support services for Medicaid beneficiaries.

Under the demonstration, states chosen for the program would receive a 90% match rate from the federal government for activities to increase treatment capacity in their Medicaid programs. States could offer technical assistance, raise provider reimbursement rates, and build provider networks to offer innovative services like telehealth and mobile health, among other activities. Providers -- including hospitals, health groups, and Federally Qualified Health Centers -- could receive greater incentives for providing specialized care to unique populations including babies with neonatal abstinence syndrome, postpartum women, young adults, and tribal communities.

The bipartisan ROOT Act was introduced by Reps. O'Halleran and Diane Black (TN-06) in May. It improves provider prescribing practices by eliminating pain questions from the current patient satisfaction survey used to determine a hospital's eligibility for bonus payments. It reduces the incentive for doctors to overprescribe pain medicine.

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