March 05, 2018

Moving aggressively to deal with the widening opioid epidemic, a bipartisan group of Senators, led by Rob Portman (R-OH) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) introduced a bill that would, with few exceptions, impose a three-day initial limit on opioid prescriptions. Building upon the budget deal that proposed $6 billion for the opioid crisis and mental health, the bill would specifically allocate about $1 billion in federal funds annually for treatment, prevention and education and expand access to providers for treatment and recovery. Specifics of the bill include:

• Limiting doctors to a three-day initial limit for initial opioid prescriptions with a few exceptions for cancer, chronic pain, and hospice care in line with 2016 CDC opioid prescription guidelines;
• Providing approximately $1 billion annually for awareness education, first responder training, treatment, community support, and dedicated funds for veterans, pregnant women, and infants affected by the crisis;
• Expanding access to providers by making permanent the ability for nurse practitioners and physician assistants to prescribe drugs used for medication-assisted treatment and allowing states to expand the number of patients physicians can treat at one time with medication-assisted therapy (current limit is 100 patients);
• Requiring physicians and pharmacists to use prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs), data initiatives to help identify potential abuse, and;
• Increasing fines and criminal penalties for manufacturers and others in the supply chain for failure to report suspicious orders or to maintain effective controls on the supply of opioids.

At the same time, the US Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, announced creation of a task for to look into the practices of opioid manufacturers and distributors.

Impact on Employers and Employees

Efforts to limit initial prescriptions and aid in identifying and preventing misuse of opioids will help prevent unnecessary exposure and risk of addiction by employees and help employers’ efforts to combat opioid addiction.
Expanding access to providers and evidence-based treatment will help employees and their families who are dealing with opioid addiction to manage their condition and will help employers assure adequate access to effective treatment for those covered by their plans. It will also help employees and employers limit the negative effects of the epidemic on productivity.

Outlook

Congress is likely to move quickly on this bill and other federal efforts to combat the opioid crisis as are many states.

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