The latest candidate for lame-duck action is a bill to increase access to treatment for opioid addiction — which has a good chance of passing in the omnibus this month, congressional aides tell Peter.

Why it matters: We all know about the crisis of opioid overdose deaths — and advocates point to data from SAMHSA showing only 1 in 10 people with opioid use disorder receive medication for it.

How it works: The bill would remove a requirement that health care providers get a special waiver from the DEA before they can prescribe buprenorphine, a drug used to treat opioid addiction, helping increase access to the treatment.

What they're saying: Rep. Paul Tonko, one of the lead sponsors of the bill, told Axios he is "very confident" it will make the omnibus. "Leadership is working hard to get it done," he said, calling the bill a "lifesaver."

• Nearly 200 organizations sent a letter to Congress this week urging passage, including the National Association of Counties, American Medical Association and National Sheriffs' Association.
• "We have come together to ask you to act on the overdose crisis now," the letter states. "By passing the MAT Act, you have the opportunity to increase access to a treatment that can open the doors of healing and recovery to millions."

The path forward: Backers say they have not encountered a large amount of opposition, but there is still a lot of uncertainty around how big the end-of-year package will be and what will make it in.

• And there is at least some opposition from certain House Republicans, including members who are doctors, like Rep. Larry Bucshon. Bucshon said earlier this year that the bill is "making it easier to prescribe a medication known to be highly diverted and misused."
• At least at the moment, though, backers do not think the opposition will be enough to stop it from making it into the bill.
• The list of cosponsors in the Senate includes members from across the ideological spectrum, including Maggie Hassan, Bernie Sanders, Rand Paul and Marsha Blackburn.

In the House, Rep. Mike Turner is leading the effort with Tonko.

• Chris Krepich, a spokesman for Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the top Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said it is a priority for her to get the House's mental health package, which includes the MAT Act, passed and signed into law in this Congress.
• The package got over 400 votes in the House earlier this year.
• "Overwhelmingly we're hearing support instead of opposition," said Reyna Taylor, a senior vice president at the National Council for Mental Wellbeing.

The Republican Steering Committee finalized its new regional representatives this week. Victoria got a copy of the document showing the new assignments. 

Why it matters: The new additions could give Vern Buchanan a slight edge in the race for Ways and Means chair. Still, the race continues to be Buchanan or Jason Smith’s game, according to our lobbyist and Hill sources. 

• Five new representatives were added to the list: Reps. Mario Díaz-Balart, Jodey Arrington, Larry Bucshon, Bryan Steil and Andrew Garbarino.
• The most obvious swing in Buchanan’s favor is that Díaz-Balart became the second Florida representative (there was only one Florida rep on the steering committee last Congress).
• He’s been outspoken in favor of Buchanan leading Ways and Means, since he wants Florida to have more power in Congress. 
• Reps. Steve Scalise and Tom Emmer, who secured House Republican leadership positions as majority leader and whip last month and are also members of the GOP steering committee, also campaigned closely with Buchanan when fundraising for the NRCC for the 2022 midterms. 

On the Democratic side, House members voted yesterday to add a battleground leadership representative position to their caucus leadership, Maya reports.

• One health care lobbyist predicted the new position could benefit “good bills that aren't the sexiest or most exciting bills” — which, let’s be honest, is most health care legislation. 
• Elevating the position of lawmakers with more to prove to their constituents could make the federal government more productive, the lobbyist said.

Go deeper: Reps. Abigail Spanberger and Matt Cartwright will battle it out for the position, our Axios colleague Andrew Solender confirmed.

• Neither candidate sits on major health care committees right now, but both have supported Democratic health positions during their time in Congress.

You know about all of the issues with breakthrough Alzheimer's drugs. Now, Reps. Nanette Diaz Barragán and David Joyce have introduced a bill aimed at expanding access to new Alzheimer’s therapies, Maya reports.

Why it matters: It's going to come back in the next Congress — and it's designed to put pressure on CMS to revisit its decision to limit coverage of Alzheimer's drugs.

• Our Vitals colleagues filled you in this week on the effects and risks of lecanemab, the latest monoclonal antibody meant to slow Alzheimer’s progression.

The details: The bipartisan bill would prevent CMS from making limited coverage determinations for entire classes of breakthrough drugs.

• The bill would also create a timeline for CMS to reconsider decisions to cover drugs only within clinical trials.

What’s next: Barragán, a Democrat, told Maya that she plans to reintroduce the bill early in the next Congress.

• “We wanted to introduce it now to set the agenda,” she said. “We're hoping that this will be one of those efforts that Republicans in the majority will continue to pursue.”
• Barragán and Rep. Vern Buchanan, who’s in the running for Ways & Means chair, introduced a similar but narrower bill called the MERIT Act earlier this year. Barragán is the only Democrat signed on to that bill, according to Congress.gov.

One personal thing: Barragán’s mother has Alzheimer’s, and the congresswoman said she moved in with her mom in January.

• “If there's some prospect of [a drug] working, why don't you make it available, leave it up to the doctor and the patient to make that decision?” she said.