Image By Eric Baradat

If one thing is clear, when the health of the nation is at risk, bills addressing the issue are much more likely to make it through congress with bipartisan support than ones that do not directly effect peoples health. This is evident with both bills concerning the corona virus and the opioid epidemic. In a bill that was passed in 2018 with only 1 vote against it in the senate, it required the U.S. postal service to screen all packages coming from china for fenetaynal. It will also helps provide funds for addiction treatment centers, job training and mental healthcare. It also allows for people who do not have health insurance to be treated for addiction under Medicare. Before this bill was passed, Medicare could not pay for addiction treatment leaving those uninsured with no way to pay for treatment, and if one really think about it, it is unlikely that the majority of people who need to be treated for opioid addiction are covered by some private healthcare provider. The fact that this bill was passed with only one opposing vote in the senate, Mike Lee R-Utah, is pretty impressive. This may have been do to the carnage the opioids are wrecking on American streets. Over 70,000 people died from opioid over doses or from opioid related health issues. In comparison, 112 People Have Died From The Corona Virus in the United States. It was also passed in the House, which has 435 members, with only eight votes against. An important thing to keep in mind here is that this bill was being passed during a very contentious time in Washington, Bret Kavanaugh’s conformation to the Supreme Court. I you remember what the political atmosphere was like during that time period, it really is a shock that every single senator less one, agreed on the same version of a bill, and that 398 Representatives in the House agreed. (I realize that 435-8 does not equal 398, some members of the house abstained from voting on the bill) Congress Also Approved an 8 billion dollar spending bill in order to combat the opioid epidemic, although that is approved on a year to year basis and there is no guarantee that there will be funding of that magnitude available every year. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., proposes to contribute 100 Billion over ten years to fight the crisis with a guaranteed 10 billion a year. That did not get through, but hey, 8 billion is better than nothing.

Image By Alexandra Kanik

This bill also helps provide funds for medication to safely ween people who are addicted off the drug, greatly reducing the relapse percentage. So while it may appear on the nightly news that our government is helpless divided, one can think back to a time in 2018 when the two sides seemed bitterly at war in public, but yet, managed to pass a bill that only managed to garner on nay vote in the Senate.