The House of Representatives recently approved bills that were introduced by U.S. Reps. Larry Bucshon (R-IN), Leonard Lance (R-NJ), Patrick Meehan (R-PA) and Steve Stivers (R-OH) to address the nation’s opioid epidemic.
The House of Representatives has approved 18 bills to address the opioid epidemic this week, because, as House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) said, “Right now, people need our help.”
“Many states have taken action, but this threat also requires a national response,” Ryan said. “So whether it is protecting infants, whether it is stopping kingpins or pushers, or making better use of data, we are going to take all of these ideas, pass them through the House, go into a conference committee with the Senate. And we intend to put a bill on the president’s desk fast.”
The Opioid Use Disorder Treatment Expansion and Modernization Act, H.R. 4981, introduced by Bucshon, would amend the Controlled Substances Act to make access to medication-assisted opioid addiction treatment more available.
“As a physician, I’ve focused on improving access to treatment for Americans battling opioid use disorder,” Bucshon said. “Our bill helps expand access to wide-ranging treatment options and reduce improper use and abuse of treatment medications. I’m proud of the bipartisan support for our efforts and will continue working to see this measure become law.”
The Opioid Review Modernization Act, H.R. 4976, introduced by Lance, would ensure that the FDA reviews the benefits and risks of opioid pain medications, and that those risks are conveyed to patients and physicians.
“This bill and the larger package are a great step forward in the fight against the scourge of drug addiction,” Lance said. “H.R. 4976 targets opioid addiction’s strong ties to prescription drug abuse and the issue of over-prescription. Studies have shown health care providers write nearly 300 million opioid prescriptions a year in this country. That number is truly staggering.”
Additionally, the bill would reform product approval and labeling processes, and it would take steps to encourage the development of opioid with abuse-deterrent properties.
Meehan’s John Thomas Decker Act, H.R., 4969, named for a Pennsylvania man who died as a result of a heroin overdose after a sports injury led to an opioid addiction, would require the Department of Health and Human Services to study educational resources available to youth athletes, families and coaches about addiction.
“Opioids are not aspirin,” Meehan said. “Prescriptions can grow into addictions and the vast majority of heroin users arrive at the drug after abusing prescription narcotics. The danger is real. And too many kids begin a painkiller prescription after a torn ACL or a compound fracture without fully knowing the risks involved.”
The Reducing Unused Medication Act, H.R. 4599, introduced by Stivers, meanwhile, would amend DEA guidelines to clarify that schedule II drugs, including opioids, could be partially filled to prevent unused drugs.
The clarification would allow states to consider their own partial fill policies.
“Combating the opiate epidemic is a multi-front battle,” Stivers said. “This legislation will help prevent highly-addictive painkillers from getting into the wrong hands as we work in other ways to provide services and treatment to help addicts, and to support our law enforcement and health care professionals as they deal with the consequences of drug abuse.”