Paul Tonko: “I thank Chairman Walden for yielding. Although I know my colleague plans to withdraw, I rise in opposition to this…”

“I thank Chairman Walden for yielding. Although I know my colleague plans to withdraw, I rise in opposition to this amendment, and I just want to articulate a bit of my reasoning. I think my colleagues and I both share the same goal of safely expanding access to addiction treatment. Where we differ is that I believe that the provisions in H.R. 6 expanding buprenorphine prescribing privileges to advanced practice nurses meet that test. We all know that there is a dire need for expanded treatment capacity to meet the demands of this current epidemic. As many as 40 percent of counties across the country lack even a single provider that is able to offer buprenorphine. Advanced practice nurses play an outsized role in providing care in rural America, and H.R. 6 will help expand addiction treatment capacity into these communities where it is most needed. Expanding buprenorphine prescribing privileges to APRNs is supported by medical groups that serve on the front lines of this epidemic, such as the American Society for Addiction Medicine and the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. All advanced practice nurses who wish to prescribe medication- assisted treatment would have to receive a special waiver from the DEA and would have to undergo three times as much specialized addiction training as their physician colleagues.…”