House subcommittee approves opioid bills

The House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee yesterday approved by voice vote 12 bills to address the opioid crisis and other substance abuse disorders. The full committee is expected to consider the bills as early as next week, with possible votes on the House floor in early May. The bills would: require the Government Accountability Office to report to Congress on neonatal abstinence syndrome and its treatment under Medicaid (H.R. 4978); establish an inter-agency task force to review and update best practices for pain management and prescribing (H.R. 4641); create a grant program for co-prescribing opioid reversal drugs to high-risk patients (H.R. 3680); reauthorize a residential substance abuse treatment program for pregnant and postpartum women (H.R. 3691); create a demonstration program streamlining state requirements for veterans who have completed military emergency medical technician training (H.R. 1818); prohibit selling drugs containing dextromethorphan to most minors without a prescription (H.R. 3250); improve access to information on opioid risks and alternative treatments for youth with sports-related injuries (H.R. 4969); authorize state grants to develop naloxone standing orders (H.R. 4586); clarify when prescriptions for Schedule II controlled substances may be partially filled (H.R. 4599); and require the Food and Drug Administration to seek advisory committee recommendations before approving certain opioid drugs without abuse-deterrent properties (H.R. 4976). The subcommittee also approved draft legislation to expand access to medication-assisted treatment and require the GAO to report to Congress on substance abuse treatment availability. In March, the Senate passed by a vote of 94-1 the bipartisan Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (S. 524), which could be reconciled with the House bills later this year.