CARA 2.0 has been proposed as a follow-up bill to the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2

CARA 2.0 has been introduced by a bipartisan group of senators and includes various policy changes addressing the opioid epidemic including a proposed budget of $6 billion over two years.

Along with this the bill establishes the following policy changes:

1) establish a three-day initial prescribing limit on opioids for acute pain

2) permanently allow physician assistants and nurse practitioners to prescribe buprenorphine with guidance from a qualified physician

3) require doctors and pharmacists to use prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) before prescribing or dispensing opioids

4) increase civil and criminal penalties for opioid manufacturers if they fail to report suspicious orders or fail to do enough to prevent diversion.

The bill would also allocate $1 billion toward numerous efforts to combat the opioid epidemic.

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Source: Policy & Medicine