WASHINGTON, DC — Congressman Paul D. Tonko today cheered President Biden’s recognition in last night’s State of the Union address of some of Tonko’s key legislative priorities in the addiction, treatment, and recovery space. Specifically, President Biden celebrated the bipartisan passage of Tonko’s Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment (MAT) Act, which removed onerous waiver requirements that made it difficult for healthcare providers to prescribe life-saving medications for opioid use disorder, and announced new guidance allowing states to use Medicaid funds to provide healthcare services — including treatments for substance use disorder — to incarcerated individuals prior to their release. This guidance was made possible through legislation Congressman Tonko authored and passed in 2018, that required CMS to develop such guidance and conduct demonstration projects, like the recently approved demonstration in California.

“I am heartened by the continued emphasis President Biden and his administration have placed on beating the overdose epidemic and expanding access to proven treatments for substance use disorder,” Congressman Tonko said. “With bipartisan passage of my MAT Act and new guidance allowing states to provide incarcerated individuals with the care they need prior to their release, we are taking significant steps to end this crisis that tears apart so many American families and communities each day. I look forward to working with dedicated advocates and my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to pass my Medicaid Reentry Act and codify this new flexibility into law, and I thank President Biden and his team for their leadership on this critical issue.”

Congressman Tonko’s Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment (MAT) Act, signed into law by President Biden in December, eliminates the redundant requirement that practitioners apply for a separate waiver through the DEA to prescribe life-saving medications like buprenorphine for treatment of substance use disorder.

Tonko has long championed efforts to extend Medicaid services to individuals returning home from prisons and jails, and is the author of the bipartisan Medicaid Reentry Act, legislation that would allow all states to provide pre-release care to Medicaid-eligible individuals up to 30 days prior to their release without a special waiver from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).