The MORE Savings Act would expand access to opioid use disorder treatment by reducing or eliminating out-of-pocket costs for certain evidence-based services. In Medicare, it directs the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation to test a model in 15 selected states that would remove coinsurance, copayments, and deductibles for opioid-related drugs and biologicals, behavioral health and community support services, and recovery support services. The model would target states with high Medicare enrollment, high opioid overdose death rates, and significant rural populations, and it would be protected from early termination or modification for the first five years after implementation.
The bill also requires group health plans and health insurance issuers offering group or individual coverage to cover opioid treatment medications, behavioral health treatment, and community recovery support services without cost-sharing. It applies these requirements through amendments to the Public Health Service Act, ERISA, and the Internal Revenue Code, and it sets the effective date for plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2027. In Medicaid, the bill raises the federal medical assistance percentage to 90 percent for medication-assisted treatment and allows states to include recovery support services such as peer counseling and transportation as part of that treatment.
Overall, the bill is designed to make opioid treatment more affordable and more accessible across Medicare, Medicaid, and private health coverage. Its impact would be to change federal coverage rules and financing incentives so that patients facing opioid use disorder, overdose, or recovery needs are less likely to delay care because of cost-sharing. It would also create a federal demonstration in selected states and expand the scope of services that can be treated as part of medication-assisted treatment under Medicaid.
The available context shows generally supportive framing, with the bill introduced by a bipartisan group of senators and referred to the Senate Finance Committee. No votes or committee debate transcripts are provided, so there is no recorded opposition in the supplied materials. Potential points of contention, based on the bill’s structure, would likely include the federal cost of expanded coverage and enhanced Medicaid matching, the mandate for private plans to eliminate cost-sharing, and the selection of states for the Medicare model demonstration.
The bill would amend the Social Security Act, the Public Health Service Act, ERISA, and the Internal Revenue Code to require or encourage coverage of opioid use disorder medications, overdose reversal drugs, behavioral health treatment, and recovery support services without cost-sharing. It would also increase the federal Medicaid match to 90 percent for medication-assisted treatment and allow states to include recovery support services as part of that treatment. These changes would affect Medicare beneficiaries, Medicaid enrollees, and participants in employer-sponsored and individual health plans.
The bill appears to have a broadly supportive and bipartisan tone based on its introduction by senators from both parties and its policy focus on expanding access to treatment for the opioid crisis. No votes are listed and no committee transcript is provided, so there is no documented floor or committee opposition in the supplied record. The overall sentiment in the available materials is that the bill is a public health and affordability measure aimed at reducing barriers to treatment.
No direct contention is documented in the provided context, but the bill’s likely pressure points are policy and fiscal rather than ideological in the text itself. Possible concerns include the cost to Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurers of eliminating deductibles and copays, the federal government’s role in mandating coverage terms for health plans, and whether the 15-state Medicare model and its selection criteria would fairly target high-need areas. States and insurers could also scrutinize the enhanced Medicaid match and the expanded definition of medication-assisted treatment to include recovery support services.