House Approves Infant Addiction Act

Bipartisan Bill, co-sponsored by Steve Stivers (R-OH), passes on Voice Vote

(September, 2015) The House of Representatives approved the Protecting Our Infants Act (H.R. 1462), Sept 9, by voice vote. The bipartisan legislation, sponsored by Rep. Katherine Clark (D-MA) and Steve Stivers (R-OH), directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop a strategy and recommendations to decrease the number of infants with opioid dependency.

The legislation also requires the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to work with state governments to improve the public health response to the opioid epidemic. The Senate companion bill, (S.799) is sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Sen. Robert Casey (D-PA). S. 799/H.R. 1462:

• Directs the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to conduct a study and develop recommendations for preventing and treating prenatal opioid abuse andNAS.
• Requires the Department of Health and Human Services to develop a strategy to address research and program gaps, which includes determining the most appropriate treatment for pregnant women with opioid use disorders, discerning the most appropriate treatment and management of infants with neonatal abstinence syndrome, and cataloguing the long-term effects of prenatal opioid exposure on children.
• Authorizes CDC to provide technical assistance to states to improve the availability and quality of data collection and surveillance activities regarding NAS.