Inpatient Opioid Safety Act of 2021
Bill: H.R.5932 | Sponsor: Rep. Kuster, Ann M. (D-NH)
Policy area: Health

Summary:
Inpatient Opioid Safety Act of 2021
This bill requires hospitals, as a condition of Medicare and Medicaid participation, to use specified technology to monitor patients for opioid-induced respiratory depression for 12 hours after the administration of an opioid or until the patient is discharged, whichever is earlier, unless a health care practitioner determines before administering an opioid that such monitoring should not be used and records this determination in the patient's record.

To amend titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act to provide for 
the improvement of patient safety and to reduce the incidence of injury 
and death from opioid-induced respiratory depression under the Medicare 
                         and Medicaid programs.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Inpatient Opioid Safety Act of 
2021''.

SEC. 2. PREVENTING OPIOID-INDUCED RESPIRATORY DEPRESSION AND DEATHS 
              UNDER THE MEDICARE AND MEDICAID PROGRAMS THROUGH REQUIRED 
              MONITORING.

    (a) Medicare.--Section 1866(a)(1) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 1395cc(a)(1)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (X), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) in subparagraph (Y)(ii)(V), by striking the period and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by inserting after subparagraph (Y) the following new 
        subparagraph:
            ``(Z) in the case of a hospital or critical access hospital 
        and with respect to an individual who is furnished, on or after 
        July 1, 2022, any opioid (regardless of route of 
        administration) while an inpatient of such hospital or critical 
        access hospital, to furnish to such individual, during the 
        period beginning at the time such opioid is furnished and 
        ending 12 hours later (or, if earlier, the time such individual 
        is discharged), continuous physiologic electronic monitoring 
        through a monitor that--
                    ``(i) measures the adequacy of the respiration of 
                such individual to detect opioid-induced respiratory 
                depression needing intervention;
                    ``(ii) can be configured to manage excess false 
                alarms; and
                    ``(iii) records and transmits information on blood 
                oxygenation or ventilation of such individual,
        unless, before furnishing such opioid, a physician or 
        practitioner (as defined in section 1842(b)(18)(C)) treating 
        such individual determines that such monitoring is 
        contraindicated and records such determination in the treatment 
        records of such individual.''.
    (b) Medicaid.--Section 1902(a) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 1396a(a))--
            (1) in paragraph (86), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) in paragraph (87), by striking the period and inserting 
        ``; and''; and
            (3) by inserting after paragraph (87) the following new 
        paragraph:
            ``(88) provide that no hospital is eligible to receive 
        payments under such plan unless such hospital furnishes 
        continuous physiologic electronic monitoring in accordance with 
        the provisions of section 1866(a)(1)(Z).''.
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