Reports R48864
The SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act of 2025: SectionbySection Summary
Published February 26, 2026 · Alexandria K. Mickler, Amanda K. Sarata, Elayne J. Heisler, Hassan Z. Sheikh, Johnathan H. Duff, Lisa N. Sacco, Nora Wells
Summary
The SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act (P.L. 119-44) was enacted on December 1, 2025. The act primarily reauthorized or amended existing behavioral health (i.e., mental health and substance use) programs originally authorized or reauthorized by the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act (SUPPORT Act; P.L. 115-271) in 2018. The SUPPORT Act of 2018 authorized or reauthorized discretionary appropriations for (1) behavioral health-related programs related to substance use disorder prevention, treatment, and recovery activities; (2) programs that seek to expand consumer education on opioid use; and (3) training for the medical and behavioral health workforce, among other activities. Many of those authorizations of appropriations expired at the end of FY2023, though most existing programs received annual appropriations in FY2024 and continued to operate. The SUPPORT Reauthorization Act of 2025 generally reauthorizes appropriations for many of these programs through FY2030. Several authorizations included in the SUPPORT Act of 2018 were not reauthorized by P.L. 119-44.
In summary, the titles of the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act address the following:
Title I—Prevention focuses on activities related to the prevention of substance misuse and overdose and associated harms, including federal programs that target pregnant woman and infants, youth, and overdose prevention efforts.
Title II—Treatment focuses on substance use disorder treatment activities, including federal programs that support behavioral health workforce training, disseminate best practices in the treatment of substance use disorders, and promote the use of approved medications for opioid use disorder and related overdoses.
Title III—Recovery focuses on substance use disorder recovery efforts, including federal programs that support a spectrum of recovery-related services and resources.
Title IV—Miscellaneous focuses on federal laws that regulate the delivery and dispensing of controlled substances and the training requirements for prescribing practitioners.
The SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act of 2025 is an authorizing law; it does not appropriate any funds. Not all programs amended or reauthorized by the law have received explicit appropriations.
This report provides a section-by-section summary of the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act of 2025, organized by title of the act. It includes relevant background information, followed by a summary of each provision. Table 1 identifies expired authorizations of appropriations in the SUPPORT Act of 2018, annual appropriations associated with the authorization, and whether P.L. 119-44 reauthorizes the provision.
Topics
Behavioral Health WorkforceSubstance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery & Treatment (SUPPORT) ActSubstance Use Disorders