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Sen. Sherrod Brown touts bill to help newborns suffering from opioid withdrawal
BOARDMAN
U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown touted legislation to help newborns suffering from neonatal abstinence syndrome, a withdrawal condition often caused by the use of opioids in pregnant women, during a Friday roundtable at St. Elizabeth Boardman Hospital.
Brown, a Cleveland Democrat, expects the Senate to pass the Caring Recovery for Infant and Babies [CRIB] Act on Monday as part of a larger addiction package. The proposal is co-sponsored by Brown and two Republican senators – Rob Portman of the Cincinnati area and Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia.
The bill would allow Medicaid to cover certain health care services provided to infants in residential pediatric recovery facilities and hospitals suffering from the syndrome, and allow them to receive services after 1 year of age.
“It will likely mean healthier babies that can live longer, more productive lives, and it will save lots of dollars in terms of taking care of very sick babies,” Brown said.
Monday’s Senate vote “will be a major step in helping us address this public-health crisis,” he said.
Babies with the syndrome are usually treated in neonatal intensive-care units, where treatment costs can be four to five times more expensive than treating other newborns, Brown said. Also, an ICU with bright lights and loud noises isn’t the best place for newborns suffering from withdrawal, he said.
Brown discussed the proposal Friday with Mahoning Valley health care and addiction treatment officials at St. Elizabeth Boardman Hospital.
“As our country continues to battle the opioid epidemic and infant mortality, we are grateful to collaborate on a local level with many community agencies and partners to develop innovative solutions to this public-health issue,” said Don Kline, president and chief executive officer of Mercy Health Youngstown.
Meanwhile, during an interview with reporters, Brown was asked if he assumed Judge Brett Kavanaugh would be appointed to a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court.
“I don’t assume that at all,” he said.
Brown, who opposes the appointment, said Republicans are “trying to rush [the confirmation vote] for obvious reasons. That’s how they do things, and it’s not how they ought to be doing things.”