Opioid Treatment Surge Act

Bill: 116-s-1662
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR]
Introduced: 2019-05-23
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Drug, alcohol, tobacco use

Health care coverage and access

Prescription drugs

User charges and fees
Latest action: action_date: 2019-05-23
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Summaries:
action_date: 2019-05-23
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p><b>Opioid Treatment Surge Act</b><br /><br />This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to assess market-share-based fees, for the next 10 years, on drug manufacturers that have produced opioid drugs since 1999. Opioid drugs manufactured to treat opioid addiction, cancer patients, or hospice patients are, however, exempt from this assessment. All assessed fees must be used for the substance abuse prevention and treatment block grant program. </p>

tv_txt: II 116th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 1662 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES May 23 (legislative day, May 22), 2019 Mr. Merkley introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To establish an annual fee applicable to opioid manufacturers.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Opioid Treatment Surge Act . 2. Annual fee (a) In general For each of the 10 calendar years immediately proceeding the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall assess a fee against each prescription drug manufacturer that, at any time during the period beginning on January 1, 1999, and ending on the calendar year immediately preceding the year in which the fee is assessed, manufactured any opioid drug (other than a drug described in subsection (b)). Such fee, with respect to such a manufacturer, shall be in an amount, as determined by such Secretary, that bears the same relationship to $2,000,000,000 as the market share of any such opioid drugs manufactured by such manufacturer during the period for which the fee is being assessed bears to the total market for opioid drugs (excluding such drugs described in subsection (b)) during such period. (b) Exceptions The fee described in subsection (a) shall not apply with respect to any opioid drug used exclusively for the treatment of— (1) opioid addiction, as part of a medically assisted treatment effort; or (2) cancer or hospice patients. (c) Transfers To block grant programs For each year that the Secretary of Health and Human Services assesses fees under subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer from the general fund of the Treasury to the Secretary of Health and Human Services an amount equal to the amount of such fees, for purposes of carrying out the substance abuse prevention and treatment block grant under subpart II of part B of title XIX of the Public Health Service Act ( 42 U.S.C. 300x–21 et seq.).