“A House panel advanced a series of opioid bills Wednesday that would link overdose victims to treatment before leaving the emergency room, let hospice workers get rid of unused pills and spur the National Institutes of Health to find non-addictive solutions for pain.
All told, the Energy and Commerce Committee approved 25 bills aimed at reining in the addiction crisis that’s killing tens of thousands of Americans per year.
If enacted into the law, the measures would expand the use of “mail-back pouches” to destroy unused pain medication and help the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention combat rates of HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis C and other diseases tied to intravenous drug use.
Patients covered by Medicare would see changes, too. Doctors would have to transmit prescriptions for potentially addictive drugs electronically — to reduce the number of fraudulent or manipulated scripts — and enrollees would learn about the potential dangers of using opioids.”
Read more at: https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/may/9/house-panel-advances-dozens-opioid-bills/
Source: WashingtonTimes.com – May 9, 2018
See related government spending article: HHS Head Azar Requested Less Money Than Congress Gave the Agency available at: http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/news/hhs-head-azar-requested-less-money-congress-gave-agency
