Title: REACH OUT Act of 2018
Policy area: Health

Summary:
Responsible Education Achieves Care and Healthy Outcomes for Users’ Treatment Act of 2018 or the REACH OUT Act of 2018
This bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to qualifying organizations in order to support efforts to curb outlier prescribers of opioids under the Medicare prescription drug benefit and Medicare Advantage prescription drug plans.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5796 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5796

To require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide grants 
   for eligible entities to provide technical assistance to outlier 
                        prescribers of opioids.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 15, 2018

Mr. Fitzpatrick (for himself, Mr. Curbelo of Florida, and Mr. Thompson 
of California) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on 
   Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide grants 
   for eligible entities to provide technical assistance to outlier 
                        prescribers of opioids.

    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 ``Responsible Education Achieves Care 
and Healthy Outcomes for Users' Treatment Act of 2018'' or the ``REACH 
OUT Act of 2018''.

SEC. 2. GRANTS TO PROVIDE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO OUTLIER PRESCRIBERS 
              OF OPIOIDS.

    (a) Grants Authorized.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services 
(in this section referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall, through the 
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, award grants, contracts, or 
cooperative agreements to eligible entities for the purposes described 
in subsection (b).
    (b) Use of Funds.--Grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements 
awarded under subsection (a) shall be used to support eligible entities 
through technical assistance--
            (1) to educate and provide outreach to outlier prescribers 
        of opioids about best practices for prescribing opioids;
            (2) to educate and provide outreach to outlier prescribers 
        of opioids about non-opioid pain management therapies; and
            (3) to reduce the amount of opioid prescriptions prescribed 
        by outlier prescribers of opioids.
    (c) Application.--Each eligible entity seeking to receive a grant, 
contract, or cooperative agreement under subsection (a) shall submit to 
the Secretary an application, at such time, in such manner, and 
containing such information as the Secretary may require.
    (d) Geographic Distribution.--In awarding grants, contracts, and 
cooperative agreements under this section, the Secretary shall 
prioritize establishing technical assistance resources in each State.
    (e) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means--
                    (A) an organization--
                            (i) that has demonstrated experience 
                        providing technical assistance to health care 
                        professionals on a State or regional basis; and
                            (ii) that has at least--
                                    (I) one individual who is a 
                                representative of consumers on its 
                                governing body; and
                                    (II) one individual who is a 
                                representative of health care providers 
                                on its governing body; or
                    (B) an entity that is a quality improvement entity 
                with a contract under part B of title XI of the Social 
                Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320c et seq.).
            (2) Outlier prescriber of opioids.--The term ``outlier 
        prescriber of opioids'' means a prescriber, identified by the 
        Secretary of Health and Human Services (through use of 
        prescriber information provided by prescriber National Provider 
        Identifiers included pursuant to section 1860D-4(c)(4)(A) of 
        the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w-104(c)(4)(A)) on 
        claims for covered part D drugs for part D eligible individuals 
        enrolled in prescription drug plans under part D of title XVIII 
        of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w-101 et seq.) and MA-PD plans under 
        part C of such title (42 U.S.C. 1395w-21 et seq.)) as 
        prescribing, as compared to other prescribers in the specialty 
        of the prescriber and geographic area, amounts of opioids in 
        excess of a threshold (and other criteria) specified by the 
        Secretary, after consultation with stakeholders.
            (3) Prescribers.--The term ``prescriber'' means any health 
        care professional, including a nurse practitioner or physician 
        assistant, who is licensed to prescribe opioids by the State or 
        territory in which such professional practices.
    (f) Funding.--For purposes of implementing this section, the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services shall provide for the transfer 
from the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund established 
under section 1841 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395t) to the 
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Program Management Account of 
$100,000,000 for fiscal year 2019. Amounts transferred under this 
subparagraph shall remain available until expended.
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