[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5914 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5914

To require a study and report on policy and regulatory changes that may 
                have contributed to the opioid epidemic.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 22, 2018

 Mr. Meadows introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Energy and Commerce

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                                 A BILL


 
To require a study and report on policy and regulatory changes that may 
                have contributed to the opioid epidemic.

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

SECTION 1. GAO STUDY AND REPORT ON POLICY CHANGES THAT MAY HAVE 
              CONTRIBUTED TO THE OPIOID EPIDEMIC.

    Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Comptroller General of the United States shall complete a study and 
submit a report to Congress on health care policy changes that may have 
contributed to the increase in opioid overdoses and deaths during the 
10 years preceding the date of enactment of this Act. Such study shall 
include--
            (1) a review of health care-related legislative, 
        administrative, and judicial decisions by officers and 
        employees of the Federal Government that have affected access 
        to pain management strategies with an emphasis on 
        pharmaceuticals;
            (2) an analysis of what is known about the costs and 
        benefits, whether financial or nonfinancial, of reversing or 
        revising such decisions individually or in combination, 
        including whether the reversals or revisions would be expected 
        to achieve a reduction in abuse of, addiction to, overdose on, 
        and death from opioids;
            (3) an analysis of the differences among State-based 
        prescription drug monitoring programs, including an analysis of 
        what is known about the effects of such differences on 
        monitoring for abuse of, addiction to, overdose on, and death 
        from opioids;
            (4) an analysis of what is known about positive and 
        negative impacts that prescribing limitations, both State and 
        Federal, have on patient medical outcomes, including for 
        chronic pain patients; and
            (5) an analysis of what is known about the costs and 
        benefits to payers of using abuse-deterrent formulations of 
        opioid pain medications, compared to opioid pain medications 
        without abuse-deterrent features.
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