U.S. Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-FL) has introduced the bipartisan Hospital Opioid Solutions Toolkit (HOST) Act of 2018, H.R. 5699, which would provide guidance on pain management and the prevention of opioid use disorder for hospitals receiving payment under part A of the Medicare program.
“This bipartisan legislation will offer an additional tool for American hospital systems to mitigate some of the unnecessary prescribing that has trapped thousands of Americans in the dangerous cycle of addiction,” said Rep. Curbelo, a member of the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over health care policy.
H.R. 5699 would require the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop an evidence-based best practices toolkit for these specific hospitals to reduce opioid misuse. The HHS toolkit would provide comprehensive and consistent resources for the screening of opioid-use disorder, as well as education for providers and beneficiaries regarding associated risks and evidence-based pain management alternatives, according to a summary provided by Rep. Curbelo’s office.
The House Ways and Means Committee is expected to mark up bills that combat the opioid crisis on Wednesday.
The congressman on May 8 was joined in introducing H.R. 5699 by original cosponsor U.S. Rep. Annie Kuster (D-NH), the founder and co-chair of the Bipartisan Heroin Task Force, who said the bill “will give prescribers and hospitals access to more information about best practices and alternative pain management techniques that can help prevent people from suffering from substance misuse in the first place.”
“We know that the high rate of opioid prescribing has been a factor in driving the opioid epidemic in New Hampshire and across the country,” Rep. Kuster added. “I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to put forward real solutions that will stem the spread of the opioid crisis.”
Rep. Curbelo said that south Florida has been affected by the opioid epidemic, as well, and statewide almost 3,000 people died in 2016 from opioid-related drug overdoses, according to HHS. “American families deserve medical providers that have reliable, evidence-based resources to encourage smart, safe use of prescription opioids,” he said.