Manchin reintroduces LifeBOAT Act with GOP support

Jul. 28—U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., has once again reintroduced the Life Budgeting for Opioid Addiction Treatment (LifeBOAT) Act, a measure that would establish a permanent funding stream to provide and expand access to substance abuse treatment. And this year he has a Republican co-sponsor for the bill.

U.S. Senator Mitt Romney, R-Utah, has joined Manchin in reintroducing the LifeBOAT Act in the U.S. Senate.

As in past versions of the bill, the measure would establish a 1-cent "stewardship fee" on each milligram of active opioid ingredient in a prescription pain pill. The funding from the new fee would then be used to provide and expand access to substance abuse treatment for Americans who are suffering from the chains of addiction.

"It is past time that funding meets the need for resources, treatment facilities and health care providers that help Americans struggling with substance use disorder," Manchin said Thursday. "This bipartisan legislation would help our communities invest in life-saving resources for our fellow Americans in need. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this vital bipartisan legislation to help address the drug epidemic facing our nation."

"We must do more to provide access to treatment for those who want to escape opioid abuse and addiction," Romney added in a prepared statement Thursday. "I'm proud to once again join Senator Manchin in this effort, which will help fund treatment facilities around the country and offer support for those who seek treatment for addiction."

Manchin first introduced the LifeBOAT Act in 2017 in the U.S. Senate. The measure has yet to pass the Senate but over the years support has grown for it, a spokesperson for Manchin said Thursday.

One stumbling block for the bill has been concerns by Republicans that the penny fee will be viewed as a new tax.

This year a number of Democrats have joined Manchin in co-sponsoring the bill, including Senators Richard Blumenthal, D-CT, Angus King, I-Maine, Elizabeth Warren, D-MA., Tina Smith, D-MN, Jeanne Shaheen, D-NH, Amy Klobuchar. D-MN, Sheldon Whitehouse, D-RI, and Tammy Baldwin, D-WI.

In 2022, more than 109,000 Americans died from drug-related overdoses — the highest year of overdose deaths ever recorded — with more than half of those likely involving an opioid or synthetic opioid, according to information released by Manchin's office. It said the Mountain State has led the nation in drug overdose deaths for more than 10 years.

According to the proposed law, funding generated from the new stewardship fee 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.

— Contact Charles Owens at cowens@bdtonline.com

— Contact Charles Owens at cowens@bdtonline.com. Follow him @BDTOwens