Senate Passes the Halting the Epidemic of Addiction and Loss (HEAL) Act

The U.S. Senate unanimously passed the Halting the Epidemic of Addiction and Loss (HEAL) Act on September 18th, sending it to the President’s desk to be signed into law. The bill would expand access to new opioid overdose reversal agents in addition to naloxone by updating guidance and grant language from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). In the Senate, the bill is led by U.S. Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH). 

Drug overdose deaths remain near record high levels in the United States. In 2023 alone, nearly 107,000 Americans lost their lives to drug overdoses. Synthetic opioids like fentanyl have driven the overdose crisis.[1] The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data revealed a 24 percent decrease in overdose deaths in 2024.[2] Research highlights that overdose reversal agents have helped lower overdose rates.[3]

The HEAL Act would:

• Ensure that whenever HHS issues a regulation or guidance for any grant program addressing opioid misuse and use disorders, any reference to an opioid overdose reversal agent, such as naloxone, is inclusive of any opioid overdose reversal agent that has been approved or otherwise authorized for use by the FDA.

• Update naloxone-specific references to be “molecule agnostic” in regulation, guidance, and specific grant programs, including the State Opioid Response Grant (SOR) and the Tribal Opioid Response Grant (TOR).

• Provide states, local governments, tribes, and nonprofits that receive HHS and SAMHSA grant funding or guidance the opportunity to use the product that best meets the needs of their communities.

“The opioid crisis is ravaging communities across the nation, and far too many Texans have lost their lives as a tragic consequence,” said Sen. Cornyn. “This bill would help first responders save more lives by expanding access to new, life-saving overdose reversal medicines, and I urge my colleagues to pass it without delay.”  

“Fentanyl has devastated communities across New Hampshire, and first responders deserve the most advanced and up-to-date tools to fight this epidemic,” said Sen. Hassan. “This bipartisan legislation will help more first responders get access to new types of overdose reversal agents, giving those on the front lines of responding to the fentanyl crisis all of the tools that they need to help save more lives.”

References:

1. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2024). Key substance use and mental health indicators in the United States: Results from the 2023 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (HHS Publication No. PEP24-07-021, NSDUH Series H-59). Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. https://www.samhsa.gov/data/report/2023-nsduh-annual-national-report

   
   

2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2025, February 25). CDC reports nearly 24% decline in U.S. drug overdose deaths. https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2025/2025-cdc-reports-decline-in-us-drug-overdose-deaths.html

   
   

3. Gage, C. B., Powell, J. R., Ulintz, A., Cash, R. E., Lyons, M. S., Wang, H., & Panchal, A. R. (2024). Layperson-Administered Naloxone Trends Reported in Emergency Medical Service Activations, 2020-2022. JAMA Network Open, 7(10), e2439427. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.39427