[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 32 (Monday, February 29, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Page S1093]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 3335. Mr. JOHNSON submitted an amendment intended to be proposed 
by him to the bill S. 524, to authorize the Attorney General to award 
grants to address the national epidemics of prescription opioid abuse 
and heroin use; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. __. REMOVING CONSIDERATION OF CERTAIN PAIN-RELATED 
                   ISSUES FROM CALCULATIONS UNDER THE MEDICARE 
                   HOSPITAL VALUE-BASED PURCHASING PROGRAM.

       Section 1886(o)(2)(B) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
     1395ww(o)(2)(B)) is amended--
       (1) in clause (i)(II), by inserting ``, subject to clause 
     (iii),'' after ``shall''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following new clause:
       ``(iii) Exclusion of certain pain-related measures.--For 
     value-based incentive payments made with respect to 
     discharges occurring during fiscal year 2017 or a subsequent 
     fiscal year, the Secretary shall ensure that measures 
     selected under subparagraph (A) do not include measures based 
     on any assessments by patients, with respect to hospital 
     stays of such patients, of--

       ``(I) the need of such patients, during such stay, for 
     medicine for pain;
       ``(II) how often, during such stay, the pain of such 
     patients was well controlled; or
       ``(III) how often, during such stay, the staff of the 
     hospital in which such stay occurred did everything they 
     could to help the patient with the pain experienced by the 
     patient.''.

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