HOPE Act
The HOPE Act (Having Overdose Protection Equipment Act) is a bill introduced in the 119th Congress that would amend the 21st Century Cures Act to clarify how certain state and tribal grant funds may be used. Specifically, it allows these grants to cover activities related to acquiring, distributing, and maintaining public access opioid overdose reversal kits, expanding the scope beyond existing grant activities. The bill also provides a formal definition of what a “public access opioid overdose reversal kit” is, describing it as a kit that contains an opioid overdose reversal medication and instructions on how to administer it. The overall aim is to strengthen community-based responses to opioid overdoses by making grant resources more explicitly usable for overdose-reversal kit programs. In short, the bill seeks to make it clearer and easier for states and tribes to fund and sustain public access naloxone (or other reversal medications) kits and associated instructions and activities as part of their opioid use disorder response efforts.
Key Points
- 1Short title: The act may be cited as the “Having Overdose Protection Equipment Act” or the “HOPE Act.”
- 2Use of grant funds expanded: Section 1003 of the 21st Century Cures Act would be amended to allow state and tribal grants for providing primary prevention activities to also cover acquiring, making available, and maintaining public access opioid overdose reversal kits.
- 3Definition added: Establishes a new or clarified definition of “public access opioid overdose reversal kit” as a kit that includes an opioid overdose reversal medication and instructions on how to administer it.
- 4Structural changes: The amendment reorganizes and renumbers certain subsections to accommodate the new definition and funding provision.
- 5Purpose and scope: The bill focuses on expanding permissible uses of grant funds to improve public access to overdose reversal tools, thereby supporting broader public health responses to opioid use disorders.