Co-Prescribing Saves Lives Act of 2016

Bill: 114-s-2256
Sponsor: Sen. Kaine, Tim [D-VA]
Introduced: 2015-11-05 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Department of Defense
Department of Health and Human Services
Department of Veterans Affairs
Drug therapy
Drug trafficking and controlled substances
Drug, alcohol, tobacco use
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Health facilities and institutions
Health personnel
Health programs administration and funding
Medical education
Military medicine
Prescription drugs
State and local government operations
Veterans' medical care

Summary:
action_date: 2015-11-05
text: 

Co-Prescribing Saves Lives Act of 2015

 
This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and the Department of Defense (DOD) to: (1) establish training guidelines for federal health care facilities and federally qualified health centers; and (2) train certain health care providers at federal health care facilities on best practices for prescribing pain medications, principles of pain management, the misuse potential of controlled substances, identification of potential substance use disorders and referral to further evaluation and treatment, and disposal of controlled substances.
 
HHS, the VA, and DOD must establish, for certain health care facilities, guidelines for the prescription of naloxone to individuals at an elevated risk of overdose. (Naloxone is a prescription drug used to rapidly reverse an overdose of opioids, which are drugs with effects similar to opium, such as heroin and certain pain medications.)
 
HHS must award grants to state departments of health for the development and application of guidelines for the prescription of opioid overdose reversal drugs and to increase access to naloxone. Grants may be used to:
 
 
establish a program for purchasing, prescribing, and distributing opioid overdose reversal drugs;
 
expand innovative models of naloxone distribution;
 
train and provide resources to health care providers and pharmacists on prescribing opioid overdose reversal drugs;
 
offset individuals' cost-sharing for opioid overdose reversal drugs;
 
conduct community outreach to raise awareness of the availability of opioid overdose reversal drugs; and
 
 establish protocols to connect patients who have experienced a drug overdose with treatment. 
 

action_date: 2016-04-27
text: 

Co-Prescribing Saves Lives Act of 2016

 
(Sec. 2) This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to provide information to certain prescribers on best practices for prescribing naloxone for patients receiving chronic opioid therapy or being treated for opioid use disorders. (Naloxone is a prescription drug used to rapidly reverse an overdose of opioids, which are drugs with effects similar to opium, such as heroin and certain pain medications.) The information must be provided to prescribers in federally qualified health centers and the health care facilities of the Indian Health Service.
 The Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs must provide such information to prescribers in their medical facilities.

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-04-27
text: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 442.
action_date: 2016-04-27
text: Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Reported by Senator Alexander with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.
action_date: 2016-04-27
text: Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Reported by Senator Alexander with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.
action_date: 2016-03-16
text: Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
action_date: 2015-11-05
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S7819-7820)
action_date: 2015-11-05
text: Introduced in Senate