SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act, also known as Substance Use–Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities Act, (, ) is a

United States federal law The law of the United States comprises many levels of codified and uncodified forms of law, of which the most important is the nation's Constitution, which prescribes the foundation of the federal government of the United States, as well as va ...

, enacted during the

115th United States Congress The 115th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States of America federal government, composed of the United States Senate, Senate and the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives. ...

, to make medical treatment for opioid addiction more widely available while also cracking down on illicit drugs. This piece of legislation is part of the ongoing conflict to stop and prevent the

opioid epidemic in the United States In the United States, the opioid epidemic (also known as the opioid crisis) is an extensive ongoing overuse of opioid medications, both from medical prescriptions and from illegal sources. The epidemic began in the United States in the late ...

. President Trump signed the bill on October 24, 2018. President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

called it the “single largest bill to combat the drug crisis in the history of our country.”

Provisions and Short Titles

*Abuse Deterrent Access Act of 2018 *Access to Increased Drug Disposal Act of 2018 *Advancing High Quality Treatment for Opioid Use Disorders in Medicare Act *CHIP Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Parity Act *COACH Act of 2018 *Combating Opioid Abuse for Care in Hospitals Act of 2018 *Dr. Todd Graham Pain Management, Treatment, and Recovery Act of 2018

Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act of 2018 (EKRA)

The provision was originally sponsored by senators Marco Rubio and

Amy Klobuchar Amy Jean Klobuchar ( ; born May 25, 1960) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Minnesota, a seat she has held since 2007. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), Minne ...

. EKRA targets patient brokers who recruit patients, shopping them to the provider offering the highest kickbacks. EKRA is codified at 18 U.S.C. § 220. It generally prohibits anyone from paying, receiving, or soliciting, any remuneration in return for referrals to recovery homes, clinical treatment facilities, or laboratories. In this respect, EKRA operates much like the Anti-Kickback Statute, 42 U.S.C. 1320a-7b(b), but focused on substance about recovery. Notably, EKRA prohibits paying for any referrals to clinical laboratories whether or not they perform substance abuse testing. Like the Anti-Kickback Statute, EKRA contains a number of safe-harbor relationships that do not trigger the statute's prohibition. In January 2020, the Department of Justice announced what is believed to be its first conviction under EKRA. The target of the prosecution was an office manager of a substance abuse treatment clinic in Kentucky, who admitted to soliciting kickbacks from the CEO of a urine drug testing lab in exchange for the clinic's business. *Empowering Pharmacists in the Fight Against Opioid Abuse Act *Expanding Oversight of Opioid Prescribing and Payment Act of 2018 *Fighting Opioid Abuse in Transportation Act *IMD CARE Act *Individuals in Medicaid Deserve Care that is Appropriate and Responsible in its Execution Act *Medicaid IMD ADDITIONAL INFO Act *Medicaid Institutes for Mental Disease Are Decisive in Delivering Inpatient Treatment for Individuals but Opportunities for Needed Access are Limited without *Information Needed about Facility Obligations Act *Medicaid PARTNERSHIP Act *Medicaid Providers Are Required To Note Experiences in Record Systems to Help In-need Patients Act *Medicaid Reentry Act *Opioid Addiction Action Plan Act *Opioid Addiction Recovery Fraud Prevention Act of 2018 *Opioid Quota Reform Act *PASS Act of 2018 *PROPER Act of 2018 *Preventing Addiction for Susceptible Seniors Act of 2018 *Preventing Drug Diversion Act of 2018 *Providing Reliable Options for Patients and Educational Resources Act of 2018 *REACH OUT Act of 2018 *REGROUP Act of 2018 *Reauthorizing and Extending Grants for Recovery from Opioid Use Programs Act of 2018 *Responsible Education Achieves Care and Healthy Outcomes for Users' Treatment Act of 2018 *SCREEN Act *SOUND Disposal and Packaging Act *STOP Act of 2018 *Safe Disposal of Unused Medication Act *Securing Opioids and Unused Narcotics with Deliberate Disposal and Packaging Act of 2018 *Special Registration for Telemedicine Clarification Act of 2018 *Stop Counterfeit Drugs by Regulating and Enhancing Enforcement Now Act *Stop Illicit Drug Importation Act of 2018 *Substance Abuse Prevention Act of 2018 *Synthetics Trafficking and Overdose Prevention Act of 2018 *Treating Barriers to Prosperity Act of 2018 *Using Data To Prevent Opioid Diversion Act of 2018 {{PD-notice

References

External links

H.R.6 - 115th Congress (2017-2018): SUPPORT for Patients and Communities ActTrump signs sweeping opioid bill with vow to end 'scourge' of drug addictionTrump signs bipartisan opioid bill aimed at curbing national crisis
United States federal law Opioids in the United States