Sponsor
Bill Foster
Representative · D-IL
Representative · D-IL
The bill orders a GAO study that could produce useful evidence to improve treatment access and overdose surveillance—especially for vulnerable communities—but that benefit comes after a long study period and will impose privacy/technical burdens and some resource costs while immediate action is delayed.
People with opioid use disorder — including American Indian and Alaska Native patients — could see better-targeted expansion of inpatient and outpatient treatment if the GAO study clarifies treatment gaps and where services are lacking.
State and local public health agencies could improve overdose surveillance and emergency response by identifying and fixing technological and other barriers to timely, deidentified overdose reporting.
Policymakers will gain evidence on how widely evidence-based medications and nonpharmacological treatments are used, supporting more informed decisions about funding priorities and program standards.
People currently at risk of overdose may face delayed benefits because the GAO study can take up to 24 months to complete, postponing targeted actions.
Providers, states, and local systems may incur privacy, technical, and compliance costs to collect and report patient counts and deidentified overdose data safely.
The GAO will need to allocate staff time and resources to prepare the comprehensive evaluation, which could divert oversight capacity from other federal priorities.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires the GAO to study and report to Congress on national inpatient/outpatient capacity, gaps, and reporting barriers for opioid use disorder treatment beginning within 24 months.
Official title: To direct the Comptroller General of the United States to evaluate and report on the inpatient and outpatient treatment capacity, availability, and needs of the United States with respect to opioid-use disorders, and for other purposes.
Introduced July 14, 2026 by Bill Foster · Last progress July 14, 2026
Requires the Government Accountability Office to evaluate and report to Congress on U.S. inpatient and outpatient capacity, availability, and needs for treating opioid use disorder. The GAO must begin the study within 24 months of enactment and assess the full continuum of residential and outpatient services, demographic- and geography-specific programs, use of FDA‑approved medications and evidence‑based therapies, service counts, gaps in care, access for American Indian and Alaska Native patients through Indian health programs, and barriers to real‑time, deidentified overdose reporting. The report must identify federal, state, and local barriers (including technological obstacles) and recommend remedies to improve data reporting and treatment capacity across the country.