Title: Opioid Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 2017
Policy area: Health

Summary:
Opioid Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 2017
This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to award grants to states to develop a peer review process to identify and investigate questionable or inappropriate prescribing and dispensing patterns of drugs classified as schedule II or III under the Controlled Substances Act, which are drugs with an accepted medical use that have the potential to be abused and addictive.
This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to require HHS to establish grant programs to: (1) facilitate training to increase the capacity of health care providers to screen and treat patients to prevent drug abuse, and (2) develop continuing education criteria that allow health profession boards or state agencies to certify appropriate education for safe prescribing of schedule II or III drugs. The Health Resources and Services Administration must award grants to evaluate the prospect of state health professions boards expanding the authority of providers to prescribe drugs to treat drug abuse.
The Drug Enforcement Administration must request that practitioners registered to dispense controlled substances screen patients for potential drug abuse before prescribing a schedule II or III drug.
The Food and Drug Administration must consider whether naloxone (a prescription drug used to rapidly reverse an overdose of heroin or other opioids, which are drugs with effects similar to opium) should be available without a prescription.
HHS must convene or coordinate with an interagency working group to encourage states and local governments to increase opportunities for disposal of opiates (drugs derived from opium) and to reduce opportunities for abuse of opiates.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 993 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 993

                   To reduce opioid misuse and abuse.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 9, 2017

   Mr. Foster (for himself, Mr. Swalwell of California, and Mr. Sean 
 Patrick Maloney of New York) introduced the following bill; which was 
            referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
                   To reduce opioid misuse and abuse.

    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 ``Opioid Abuse Prevention and 
Treatment Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. PILOT PROJECT.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services 
(referred to in this Act as the ``Secretary'') shall award grants to 
one or more States to carry out a 1-year pilot project to develop a 
standardized peer review process and methodology to review and evaluate 
prescribing and pharmacy dispensing patterns, through a review of 
prescription drug monitoring programs (referred to in this section as 
``PDMP'') in the States receiving such grants.
    (b) Methodology.--The recipients of a grant under this section 
shall develop a systematic, standardized methodology to identify and 
investigate questionable or inappropriate prescribing and dispensing 
patterns of substances on schedule II or III under section 202 of the 
Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 812). Such peer review methodology 
and prescribing and dispensing patterns shall be shared with the 
appropriate State regulators and health profession boards.
    (c) Requirements.--A State receiving a grant under this section--
            (1) with respect to controlled substances for which a 
        prescriber is required to be registered with by the Drug 
        Enforcement Administration in order to prescribe such 
        controlled substances, shall make the information with respect 
        to such controlled substances from the PDMP available to State 
        regulators and licensing boards; and
            (2) with respect to any other controlled substances, may 
        make the information with respect to such controlled substances 
        from the PDMP available to State regulators and licensing 
        boards.
    (d) Subgrantees.--A quality improvement organization with which the 
Secretary has entered into a contract under part B of title XI of the 
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320c et seq.) may serve as the 
subgrantee under this subsection to develop peer review processes as 
described in subsection (a).

SEC. 3. PRESCRIPTION DRUG, HEROIN, AND OTHER CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE ABUSE 
              PREVENTION.

    Part P of title III of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
280g) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 399V-7. PRESCRIPTION DRUG, HEROIN, AND OTHER CONTROLLED 
              SUBSTANCE ABUSE PREVENTION.

    ``(a) Training Grants.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall award 5-year grants 
        to eligible entities to facilitate training in order to 
        increase the capacity of health care providers to conduct 
        patient screening, brief interventions, and referral to 
        treatment as needed, such as in health care settings to prevent 
        the abuse of prescription drugs, heroin, and other controlled 
        substances. The grant program under this section may be 
        coordinated with the Screening Brief Intervention and Referral 
        to Treatment grant program of the Substance Abuse and Mental 
        Health Services Administration, or other appropriate programs.
            ``(2) Eligible entities.--In this subsection, the term 
        `eligible entity' includes--
                    ``(A) States;
                    ``(B) physician organizations;
                    ``(C) continuing education entities, such as health 
                profession boards or health accrediting bodies;
                    ``(D) peer recovery organizations; and
                    ``(E) other appropriate health or professional 
                education organizations or institutions.
    ``(b) Expansion of Prescribing Authority.--The Secretary, acting 
through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services 
Administration, shall award grants to States for the purpose of 
evaluating the prospect of the health professions board of such States 
reviewing and expanding prescribing authorities of providers, such as 
advance practice nurses and physician's assistants, with respect to 
prescribing drugs for the treatment of the abuse of prescription drugs, 
heroin, or other controlled substances.''.

SEC. 4. PRESCRIPTION DRUG ABUSE TRAINING AND SCREENING PROGRAMS.

    (a) Continuing Education Grants.--The Secretary shall award grants 
to States to develop continuing education criteria and review processes 
that allow State health profession boards or State agencies to certify 
appropriate education and training for informed and safe prescribing of 
opioids and other drugs listed on schedule II or III under section 202 
of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 812).
    (b) Screening Program.--The Attorney General shall request that a 
practitioner registered under section 303(f) of the Controlled 
Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 823(f)) conduct patient screening for 
potential drug misuse or abuse before prescribing a drug listed on 
schedule II or III under section 202 of the Controlled Substances Act 
(21 U.S.C. 812), according to standards established by the applicable 
State licensing body.

SEC. 5. FDA REVIEW OF NALOXONE.

    The Secretary, acting through the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, 
shall conduct a review of naloxone to consider whether naloxone should 
cease to be subject to section 503(b) of the Federal Food, Drug, and 
Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 353(b)) and be available as an over-the-counter 
drug, in order to increase access to such drug.

SEC. 6. PRESCRIPTION OPIATE DISPOSAL.

    The Secretary shall convene or coordinate with an existing entity 
an interagency working group--
            (1) to encourage States and local governments to increase 
        opportunities for disposal of opiates, such as frequent ``take-
        back programs'' and fixed medicine disposal sites at law 
        enforcement public buildings; and
            (2) to reduce opportunities for abuse of opiates, such as 
        establishing opioid dispensing limits at hospital emergency 
        departments.

SEC. 7. GAO REPORT.

    The Comptroller General of the United States shall--
            (1) review opioid abuse programs, heroin abuse programs, 
        and policies in Federal agencies and best practices with 
        respect to opioid and heroin abuse and overdose programs of the 
        States; and
            (2) not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of 
        this Act, issue a report to Congress on its findings and 
        recommendations on ways to reduce opioid and heroin abuse and 
        overdoses.
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