Recently, the House Energy & Commerce Health Subcommittee announced that it will hold a hearing on Wednesday, February 28, 2018, at 10:00 am, to review eight bills that will attempt to curtail the opioid epidemic. The hearing, “Combating the Opioid Crisis: Helping Communities Balance Enforcement and Patient Safety,” is the first of three planned legislative hearings to examine the opioid crisis and possible legislative solutions.
The following bills are expected to be considered during that hearing:
- H.R. 2851, the Stop the Importation and Trafficking of Synthetic Analogues (SITSA) Act, introduced by Representative John Katko, would provide law enforcement the tools that they need to get elicit synthetic drugs (i.e., fentanyl) off the streets without compromising important public health and research protections. The bill will also modernize scheduling guidelines and make the guidelines more efficient to keep pace with the fast-changing nature of synthetic drugs.
- H.R. 5041, the Safe Disposal of Unused Medication Act, is a bipartisan piece of legislation authored by Representatives Tim Walberg and Debbie Dingell that will reduce the number of unused controlled substances that are at risk of diversion or misuse by permitting hospice workers to safely dispose of those medications in patients’ homes.
- H.R. __, the Ensuring Patient Access to Substance Use Disorder Treatments Act of 2018, is a current discussion draft written by Representative Ryan Costello and Rick Nolan, that would make long overdue updates to federal law to improve dispensing of implantable and injectable therapies – developed to make abuse, misuse, and diversion more difficult.
- H.R. __, the Special Registration for Telemedicine Clarification Act of 2018, a discussion draft written by Representatives Buddy Carter and Cheri Bustos will clarify telemedicine waivers. Federal law permits the Attorney General to issue a special registration to health care providers to prescribe controlled substances via telemedicine in legitimate emergency situations, such as a lack of access to an in-person specialist. Unfortunately, the waiver process has never been implemented through regulation, and some patients do not have the emergency access they need to treatment. This bipartisan draft directs the Attorney General, with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, to promulgate interim final regulations within 30 days of passage of the law.
- H.R. __, the Improving Access to Remote Behavioral Health Treatment Act of 2018, a bipartisan discussion draft written by Representatives Gregg Harper and Doris Matsui will expand access for patients in rural and underserved communities who may live near community mental health or addiction treatment centers, but not a hospital or state-licensed clinic. Without a DEA registration these health facilities do not qualify for the Ryan Haight Act’s telemedicine exception and are unable to provide care to patients in need. This proposal would direct the Attorney General, with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, to promulgate interim final regulations within 120 days of passage of the law for these treatment facilities to register with the DEA to engage in the practice of telemedicine.
- H.R. __, the Tableting and Encapsulating Machine Regulation Act of 2018, written by Representative David Kustoff, this discussion draft seeks to crack down on synthetic drug trafficking by giving the DEA authority to regulate the use of tableting and encapsulating machines with requirements for: (1) the maintenance of records; (2) inspections for verifying location and stated use; and (3) security provisions.
- H.R. 2063, the Opioid Preventing Abuse through Continuing Education (PACE) Act of 2017, authored by Representative Brad Schneider, aims to improve provider understanding of pain management treatment guidelines and best practices, early detection of opioid addiction, and the treatment and management of opioid-dependent patients by requiring 12 hours of continuing medical education on the topic every three years.
- H.R. 4275, Empowering Pharmacists in the Fight Against Opioid Abuse Act, sponsored by Representatives Mark DeSaulnier and Buddy Carter, this bill seeks to help pharmacists detect fraudulent prescriptions. The bill would require the DEA to develop training programs and materials on the circumstances under which a pharmacist may refuse to fill a controlled substance prescription suspected to be fraudulent, forged, or indicative of abuse or diversion.
“As we continue our efforts to tackle this epidemic, it’s imperative we strike the right balance between necessary enforcement and patient safety,” said Michael C. Burgess, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Health. “As the people’s representatives, we need to make sure law enforcement can get dangerous, illicit drugs out of our communities and licensed health professionals are able to safely dispose of unused prescriptions, particularly opioids. We’ll examine a number of important policies that will improve access to treatment for mental health and substance use disorders, make important updates to outdated laws, review ideas on how providers and pharmacists can better inform patients, all with the common goal of protecting our family, friends, and neighbors.”