WASHINGTON, DC - The House of Representatives today continued its two-week long consideration of dozens of bills to combat the opioid crisis. Passing the House today were 18 additional bills, including 12 from the Energy and Commerce Committee or that included provisions within the committee’s jurisdiction.
Later this week, the House will also consider:
* H.R. 5797, the IMD CARE Act, authored by Rep. Mimi Walters (R-CA)
* H.R. 6082, the Overdose Prevention and Patient Safety Act, authored by Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK)
* H.R. 6, the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment (SUPPORT) for Patients and Communities Act, authored by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR)
“Today, the House passed nearly one dozen more bills that will help aid in our response to the opioid crisis. These bills will help lead to better disposal of unused opioids and other medications, so they don’t get into the wrong hands, and give states additional resources as they fight this epidemic on the front lines," said Chairman Walden and Health Subcommittee Chairman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX). “We’ll continue our efforts later this week as we work to eliminate decade old restrictions on treatment that impede patient safety, paving the way for greater patient safety and access to critical services."
Passing in the House today was:
* H.R. 3192, the CHIP Mental Health Parity Act, authored by Rep. Joe Kennedy, III (D-MA), will require state Children’s Health Insurance Programs (CHIP) to cover mental health benefits, including substance use disorder services for pregnant women and children. In addition, states would not be allowed to impose financial or utilization limits on mental health treatment that are lower than limits placed on physical health treatment. H.R. 3192 passed the House by voice vote.
* H.R. 4005, the Medicaid Reentry Act, authored by Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY), will require the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to convene a stakeholder group that will produce a report of best practices for states to consider in health care related transitions for inmates of public institutions. H.R. 4005 passed the House by voice vote.
* H.R. 5687, the SOUND Disposal and Packaging Act, authored by Reps. Richard Hudson (R-NC), Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-NC), and Ted Budd (R-NC) will direct the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to work with manufacturers to establish programs for efficient return or destruction of unused Schedule II drugs, with an emphasis on opioids. These methods could include mail-back pouches to secure facilities for incineration, or methods to immediately inactivate/render unattractive unused drugs. In addition, this bill will facilitate utilization of packaging that may reduce overprescribing of opioids. Finally, this bill will require the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to study new and innovative technologies that claim to be able to safely dispose of opioids and other unused medications. GAO would review and detail the effectiveness of these disposal methods. H.R. 5687 passed the House by a vote of 342-13.
* H.R. 5796, the REACH OUT Act of 2018, authored by Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Carlos Curbelo (R-FL), and Mike Thompson (D-CA), will direct the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to work with eligible entities, including Quality Improvement Organizations, to engage in outreach with prescribers identified as clinical outliers to share best practices to evaluate their prescribing behavior. H.R. 5796 passed the House by voice vote.
* H.R. 5605, the Advancing High Quality Treatment for Opioid Use Disorders in Medicare Act, authored by Rep. Raul Ruiz (D-CA), will create a demonstration project for treating substance use disorder. This model includes the development of measures to evaluate the quality and outcomes of treatment. H.R. 5605 passed the House by voice vote.
* H.R. 5811, to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act with respect to post approval study requirements for certain controlled substances, and for other purposes, authored by Rep. Jerry McNerney (D-CA) and #SubOversight Vice Chairman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) will enhance FDA’s authorities and enforcement tools to ensure timely post-marketing studies for chronically administered opioids. Currently, there is limited data on the long-term efficacy of opioids, and their overall place in the treatment of pain. H.R. 5811 passed the House by voice vote.
* H.R. 6042, to amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to delay the reduction in federal medical assistance percentage for Medicaid personal care services furnished without an electronic visit verification system, and for other purposes, authored by #SubHealth Vice Chairman Brett Guthrie (R-KY), will delay by one year the possibility of a state facing a reduction in federal matching assistance percentage for Medicaid personal care services furnished without electronic visit verification (EVV) systems. The 21st Century Cures Act required stated Medicaid programs to use EVV to track all personal care services conducted in a patient’s home by Jan. 1, 2019. H.R. 6042 passed the House by voice vote.
* H.R. 5801, the Medicaid PARTNERSHIP Act, authored by #SubOversight Vice Chairman Griffith, will require Medicaid providers to check the prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) before prescribing a Schedule II controlled substance. H.R. 5801 will encourage Medicaid providers to integrate PDMP usage into a Medicaid provider’s clinical workflow. The bill also establishes standard criteria that a PDMP must meet to be counted as a qualified PDMP and requires state Medicaid programs to report to CMS on PDMP data and information. H.R. 5801 passed the House by voice vote.
* H.R. 5590, the Opioid Addiction Action Plan Act, authored by #SubDCCP Vice Chairman Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), and Reps. Yvette Clarke (R-NY), Darin LaHood (R-IL), and Danny Davis (D-IL), will establish an action plan, including studies, reports to Congress authored by HHS, as well as meetings with stakeholders, for the purpose of addressing the opioid crisis. H.R. 5590 passed the House by voice vote.
* H.R. 5775, the Providing Reliable Options for Patients and Educational Resources (PROPER) Act, authored by Reps. Erik Paulsen (R-MN) and Ron Kind (D-WI), will increase educational resources for Medicare beneficiaries. This bill includes language from H.R. 5686, the Medicare CHOICE Act, authored by Reps. Paulsen, Chris Collins (R-NY), Terri Sewell (D-AL), and Connor Lamb (D-PA), which will require prescription drug plans under Medicare Part D to include information on the adverse effects of opioid overutilization and coverage of non-pharmacological therapies and non-opioid medications or devices used to treat pain. H.R. 5775 passed the House by voice vote.
* H.R. 5773, the PASS Act of 2018, authored by Rep. Peter Roskam (R-IL) and Sewell, contains a number of provisions passed by the Energy and Commerce committee, including H.R. 4841, H.R. 5716, H.R. 5715, and H.R. 5684. Collectively, this bill will combat opioid abuse through providing more resources to beneficiaries and improving program integrity. H.R. 5773 passed the House by voice vote.
* H.R. 5676, the SENIOR Communities Protection Act of 2018, authored by Reps. Tom MacArthur (R-NJ), Collins, David Schweikert (R-AZ), and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), will allow Medicare Advantage and prescription drug plans to suspend potentially fraudulent payments, mirroring their authority in Medicare fee-for-service. H.R. 5676 passed the House by a vote of 356-3.
