The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee held a field hearing on May 6 in Louisiana to discuss healthcare services for people with substance use disorder, including addiction to opioids. Chairman Bill Cassidy (R-La.) was the lone senator to attend the hearing.
Witnesses and Sen. Cassidy pointed to the trend of opioid and substance abuse underpinning increasing suicide rates, and the need to address addiction to help decrease other related mental health problems. These trends have had profound impacts on both social cohesion and the federal government’s budget. Arthur Kleinschmidt, PhD, MBA, LPC, LAC, principal deputy assistant secretary at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), highlighted an increase in deaths due to drug overdose and excessive alcohol consumption in the past couple of decades and the need for congressional action to combat these worrisome trends. He stated that at SAMHSA he worked to classify naloxone as a lifesaving drug as opposed to a harm reduction tool.
Cassidy inquired about the role telemental health services can play for patients with addiction, and witnesses supported its effectiveness, while emphasizing the necessity of in-person help. He noted that the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) invested $65 billion in broadband expansion to improve remote health access.
The hearing highlighted multiple input factors that increase the likelihood of opioid dependence, including lack of access to adequate housing, health insurance, and mental health parity. A witness outlined the coverage of crisis care services by Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial health plans as a potential solution to emerging addiction. Discussions around the prevention of substance abuse disorder is exactly where the chiropractic profession must emerge a leader by highlighting its value in decreasing the incidence of patients with common musculoskeletal conditions being prescribed opioid pain medications at the onset of treatment.
The research connecting chiropractic care with decreased opioid dependence is very clear, including in a 2019 metanalysis and 2025 study involving veterans with back pain. The evidence shows that patients are far less likely to be prescribed opioids if their first point of contact in the healthcare system is a doctor of chiropractic. These patients can receive solutions to their pain independent of drug prescription.
With Congress’s focus turning to opioids and addiction, the chiropractic profession must play a key role in reducing patients’ dependence on prescription opioid pain medications and provide crucial, non-drug alternatives for pain management. Help capitalize on Sen. Cassidy’s current focus on these problems—get your members of Congress on board with alternatives to opioids by asking them to cosponsor the Medicare Chiropractic Modernization Act in just a few clicks here.
Emma Meehan is ACA’s associate manager of federal government relations.
