The president’s plan also calls for ensuring first-responder access to naloxone, improving overdose tracking systems, and expanding access to medication-assisted treatment. It also aims to change the Medicaid law that prohibits reimbursement of residential treatment at certain facilities with more than 16 beds.
On the legislative side, the House Energy and Commerce Committee is in the process of hosting a series of hearings and is expected to introduce a comprehensive package of bills aimed at various aspects of the opioid crisis. Across the four hearings, more than 30 pieces of individual legislation have been examined.
In the Senate, the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on April 4 released a discussion draft of the Opioid Crisis Response Act of 2018 and has scheduled a hearing for April 11 to discuss it.
The bill would spur development of nonaddictive pain killers, clarify FDA authority on small-quantity blister packs for opioids, provide states with better PDMP support; increase access to mental health services in schools, and improve substance use disorder treatment in underserved areas.
© Frontline Medical Communications 2018-2021. Reprinted with permission, all rights reserved.
