A Surging Drug Epidemic: Time for Congress to Enact a Mandate on Insurance Companies and Rehabilitation Facilities for Opioid and Opiate Addiction.

Abstract

This Note begins with a discussion of both the national opioid problem as well as the specific epidemic in Ohio as an example of how it has grown within all of the states. Part II discusses the differences between prescription opioids and opiates, how they can be obtained, what effects they have on the human body, and why the government has an interest in this growing problem. Next, this Note explains how and why there was an increase in access and addiction to prescription opioid pain medication. Following this explanation, the steps the government has taken to try to rectify the issue are explained. Part II then explores more details about the problem of heroin use--explaining what the drug is, what an overdose looks like, and how fentanyl-laced heroin is contributing to the problem. Similar to the pain medication description, there is a discussion on steps the government has taken thus far to combat the opiate issue. Finally, Part II introduces a United States Supreme Court case, National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius. In Part III, there is an in-depth analysis of why the state government solutions for dealing with the opioid epidemic have not worked thus far. This Note argues that, because even the strides that states like Ohio have taken have not solved the problem, Congress should mandate that all rehabilitation facilities accept health insurance and that all health insurance companies cover the cost of rehabilitation for opiate and opioid addiction. Analysis of the Commerce Clause, the Necessary and Proper Clause, and the Taxing Clause show that Congress has the authority to make such demands.