Mar 2, 2022
In his State of the Union speech last night, President Biden included comments about substance use disorder solutions, despite the expected and necessary major focus on foreign affairs. NAATP appreciates the President’s call for Parity between access to care for substance use disorders and mental health and other medical conditions. Enforcing the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act is a major focus of NAATP and the SUD treatment field, and we are encouraged regarding the possibilities.
President Biden also outlined the actions his administration plans to take in response to the overdose epidemic. He called on additional funding to “expand evidence-based prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery.” It was gratifying to hear a President make clear that “recovery is possible” while he recognized the 23 million Americans already recovering from substance use disorders.
NAATP is a non-partisan organization. We pledge to work with public policy makers from either party interested and willing to increase access to evidence-based care. Progress in our field is possible when legislation is supported on a bipartisan basis. We were particularly pleased that the President made the point that addiction is not a partisan disease, and neither should be the solution.
We look forward to working with President Biden’s administration and leaders in both political parties in the months ahead as we strive to address the need for treatment for all Americans.
