AACN's Response to H.R. 6 Passing in the House

The American Association of Colleges of Nursing, the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists, the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, the American College of Nurse-Midwives, and the American Nurses Association congratulates Chairman Walden (R-OR), Chairman Brady (R-TX), Ranking Member Pallone (D-NJ), Ranking Member Neal (D-MA), Congressman Tonko (D-NY), and Congressman Lujan (D-NM), for their tireless work to pass H.R. 6, the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment (SUPPORT) for Patients and Communities Act.

We are particularly happy to see section 303 included in the House passed bill. This section would make permanent the authorization for NPs and PAs to provide lifesaving medication assisted treatments (MATs) for patients battling addiction, which was originally granted for a five-year period in the Comprehensive Addiction Recovery Act of 2016. This section also provides a five-year authorization to certified nurse-midwives (CNMs), certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs), and clinical nurse specialists (CNSs) to prescribe MATs.

We commend the U.S. House of Representatives for passing this legislation and urge the Senate to take similar action.

More information about AACN's opioid epidemic response can be found here.