House Lawmakers Hope to Bring Opioid Legislation to Vote Before Memorial Day

GOP aides on Capitol Hill say the House Energy and Commerce health subcommittee will hold the last of three major hearings to address the opioid crisis on April 11, and it hopes to bring a legislative package to the floor before the Memorial Day break, reports STAT . The hearing will center on insurance coverage, payment issues, and prescription regulations for Medicaid beneficiaries. "It's part of our bipartisan, comprehensive effort to deliver relief to every American community, which continues to battle this costly epidemic," says subcommittee Chairman Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.). "Time is of the essence and we are working across the aisle to get legislation to the President's desk as quickly as possible." Bills to be discussed include requirements for state Medicaid providers to integrate prescription drug monitoring programs into their clinical workflow to guarantee that pharmacists and providers contracting through Medicaid check a database on a per-beneficiary basis prior to dispensing a controlled substance. In addition, state Medicaid providers would be mandated to enforce limits for "at-risk" beneficiaries who have filled opioid prescriptions at multiple pharmacies or otherwise drawn scrutiny from state drug-utilization review programs. The bill would ensure they cover all beneficiaries, including those using managed care programs.