[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 206 (Tuesday, November 30, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H6691-H6693]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
OPIOID PRESCRIPTION VERIFICATION ACT OF 2021
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 2355) to facilitate responsible, informed dispensing of
controlled substances and other prescribed medications, and for other
purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 2355
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 Prescription
Verification Act of 2021''.
SEC. 2. MATERIALS FOR TRAINING PHARMACISTS ON CERTAIN
CIRCUMSTANCES UNDER WHICH A PHARMACIST MAY
DECLINE TO FILL A PRESCRIPTION.
(a) Updates to Materials.--Section 3212(a) of the SUPPORT
for Patients and Communities Act (21 U.S.C. 829 note) is
amended by striking ``Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human
Services, in consultation with the Administrator of the Drug
Enforcement Administration, Commissioner of Food and Drugs,
Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
and Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use,
shall develop and disseminate'' and inserting ``The Secretary
of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the
Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration,
Commissioner of Food and Drugs, Director of the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, and Assistant Secretary for
Mental Health and Substance Use, shall develop and
disseminate not later than 1 year after the date of enactment
of this Act, and update periodically thereafter''.
(b) Materials Included.--Section 3212(b) of the SUPPORT for
Patients and Communities Act (21 U.S.C. 829 note) is
amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as paragraphs
(2) and (3), respectively; and
(2) by inserting before paragraph (2), as so redesignated,
the following new paragraph:
``(1) pharmacists on how to verify the identity of the
patient;''.
(c) Materials for Training on Patient Verification .--
Section 3212 of the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act
(21 U.S.C. 829 note) is amended by adding at the end the
following new subsection:
``(d) Materials for Training on Verification of Identity.--
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this
subsection, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, after
seeking stakeholder input in accordance with subsection (c),
shall--
``(1) update the materials developed under subsection (a)
to include information for pharmacists on how to verify the
identity the patient; and
``(2) disseminate, as appropriate, the updated
materials.''.
SEC. 3. INCENTIVIZING STATES TO FACILITATE RESPONSIBLE,
INFORMED DISPENSING OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES.
(a) In General.--Section 392A of the Public Health Service
Act (42 U.S.C. 280b-1) is amended--
(1) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as subsections
(d) and (e), respectively; and
(2) by inserting after subsection (b) the following new
subsection:
``(c) Preference.--In determining the amounts of grants
awarded to States under subsections (a) and (b), the Director
of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may give
preference to States in accordance with such criteria as the
Director may specify and may choose to give preference to
States that--
``(1) maintain a prescription drug monitoring program;
``(2) require prescribers of controlled substances in
schedule II, III, or IV to issue such prescriptions
electronically, and make such requirement subject to
exceptions in the cases listed in section 1860D-4(e)(7)(B) of
the Social Security Act; and
``(3) require dispensers of such controlled substances to
enter certain information about the purchase of such
controlled substances into the respective State's
prescription drug monitoring program, including--
``(A) the National Drug Code or, in the case of compounded
medications, compound identifier;
``(B) the quantity dispensed;
``(C) the patient identifier; and
``(D) the date filled.''.
(b) Definitions.--Subsection (d) of section 392A of the
Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 280b-1), as redesignated
by subsection (a)(1), is amended to read as follows:
``(d) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Controlled substance.--The term `controlled
substance' has the meaning given that term in section 102 of
the Controlled Substances Act.
``(2) Dispenser.--The term `dispenser' means a physician,
pharmacist, or other person that dispenses a controlled
substance to an ultimate user.
``(3) Indian tribe.--The term `Indian tribe' has the
meaning given that term in section 4 of the Indian Self-
Determination and Education Assistance Act.''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New
Jersey (Mr. Pallone) and the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Guthrie) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey.
General Leave
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous material on H.R. 2355.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from New Jersey?
There was no objection.
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, in April of this year, the Energy and Commerce Health
Subcommittee held a hearing to discuss the dual threat of the
concurrent COVID-19 pandemic and the opioid overdose crisis. In that
hearing we considered a slate of bills targeted toward the opioid
crisis including H.R. 2355, the Opioid Prescription Verification Act of
2021.
{time} 1615
We knew then, and we know now, that time was ticking. Millions of
Americans were experiencing the deadly pandemic and simultaneously
living through hard-hitting mental health and substance use issues.
Tragically, we have lost over 750,000 Americans to COVID-19 and over
100,000 to drug overdoses during the pandemic.
H.R. 2355 seeks to reduce prescription opioid diversion by directing
HHS, DEA, FDA, CDC, and SAMHSA to update and disseminate training
materials to help pharmacists that dispense opioid medications verify
the identity of the patient. To incentivize States to facilitate
verification, the bill also authorizes the CDC to prioritize certain
grant funding to States that maintain
[[Page H6692]]
prescription drug monitoring programs and require prescribers of
controlled substances to issue prescriptions electronically.
Grant funding would also be prioritized for States that require
pharmacists to enter certain information about controlled substance
prescriptions into prescription drug monitoring programs, including the
quantity dispensed, the date filed, and the patient identifier.
This bill received unanimous support in the Energy and Commerce
Committee and is part of a series of bills the committee has worked on
to help prevent diversion of opioids and reduce harmful opioid use.
I would like to thank the sponsors of this bill and my colleagues on
the committee for their steadfast work in addressing the overdose
crisis. We must continue to work in a bipartisan fashion to combat this
crisis in order to keep our constituents safe.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve
the balance of my time.
Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2355, the Opioid
Prescription Verification Act, a bill led by Representative Rodney
Davis along with Representatives Bilirakis and Wagner.
The opioid epidemic continues to devastate communities across the
country. According to the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics,
there were over 100,000 drug overdose deaths in the United States from
April 2020 to April 2021. That is a 28.5 percent increase from the
previous year.
The Opioid Prescription Verification Act directs Federal agencies to
develop, disseminate, and periodically update training materials to
help pharmacists identify and report potential cases of bad actors who
attempt to buy and sell controlled substances for illicit use.
The bill also incentivizes States to utilize prescription drug
monitoring programs and requires certain controlled substances to be
prescribed electronically. Additionally, this bill includes data entry
requirements that help reduce the potential diversion of prescription
drugs.
This bill will help stop criminals who perpetuate the vicious cycle
of addiction. It is a crucial step toward ending the opioid epidemic
and making our communities safer. I urge my colleagues to support this
legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional Members who wish to
speak, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
Florida (Mr. Bilirakis), my good friend.
Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate very much and want to thank
the ranking member and, of course, the chairman of the committee as
well. I won't take all of the 3 minutes.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2355, the Opioid
Prescription Verification Act. I want to thank my colleague and good
friend Rodney Davis for sponsoring this legislation, which I was proud
to colead in the Energy and Commerce Committee.
This bill, as amended, will allow HHS to give grant preference to
States that require their practitioners to transmit prescriptions
electronically in accordance with a prescription drug monitoring
program. I can add that the great State of Florida does this.
This bill expands on the work we did in the SUPPORT Act with
Medicare's prescription drug programs to help prevent opioid abuse. We
have a mental health and addiction problem in our Nation, Mr. Speaker,
and I know the gentleman is aware of that. We must all stand together
to enact meaningful changes to help combat this ongoing crisis. This
bill does just that, Mr. Speaker, and I urge my colleagues to support
it.
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I
reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Rodney Davis).
Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from
Kentucky, the Speaker pro tempore from Kentucky, and also my good
friend from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) for their work. I would like to
thank Mr. Pallone and Ranking Member McMorris Rodgers for allowing this
piece of legislation to come to the floor.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my bill, H.R. 2355, the
Opioid Prescription Verification Act of 2021. As my good friend Mr.
Bilirakis just said a few minutes ago, this bill builds on the
successes in the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act that was
signed into law by President Trump in 2018. Our bill adds to this
success by incentivizing electronic prescribing of opioids.
This bill also encourages the full use of States' existing
prescription drug monitoring programs to help facilitate informed and
responsible dispensing of controlled substances.
My bill will ultimately help doctors and pharmacists track the
prescriptions a patient has received and ensure they cannot be altered
or copied and used multiple times in an illicit manner. This will help
reduce prescription shopping and curb illegal sales that result in
unprescribed use of opioids, which have tragically led to millions of
overdose deaths.
This idea actually came from a meeting I had with local law
enforcement in the Bloomington-Normal area in central Illinois. I have
to thank Chief Bleichner and also Sergeant Kapchinske for coming up
with the idea because they had to track down some illicit opioid pill
shoppers in their communities. By the time they figured out this group
was shopping for opioid pills, the criminals were able to secure over
300 pills that would have been sold on the black market and could have
added to our death tolls.
The dramatic increase in overdoses during the COVID-19 pandemic has
also shown that we must be doing more to prevent opioid abuse. The
Opioid Prescription Verification Act is an important tool in our fight
against the opioid epidemic.
The original concept of this bill was to encourage States to
implement protocols for opioid prescriptions similar to the federally
mandated ID check on Sudafed-type drugs that has been in Federal law
since 2005 because they can simply be used to illegally manufacture
deadly methamphetamines.
While I believe a Federal mandate for manual checks for opioids would
stop a significant number of bad actors, expanded use of e-prescribing
will be an important and effective tool to combat the abuse.
I thank, again, Chairman Pallone, Ranking Member McMorris Rodgers,
and also Ranking Member Guthrie; my good friend Mr. Bilirakis; and also
Congresswoman Wagner for helping move this bill and finding this good,
principled compromise today. I also encourage my colleagues to vote
``yes'' on this important bill.
Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time as I
am prepared to close.
Mr. Speaker, our beloved home State has areas that have been really
affected by the opioid epidemic. We also know that our colleagues back
home who serve in our general assembly have spent an enormous amount of
time trying to get verification through prescription programs and other
programs moving forward.
There is so much to do and so much we need to do through treatment
and through other methods, but this is an important tool that will help
our pharmacists realize when people are going around trying to get
different prescriptions.
I strongly support this bill and thank my friends for working on
this: Representatives Davis, Bilirakis, and Wagner. I yield back the
balance of my time.
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues, again, to
support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2355, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mrs. BOEBERT. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to section 3(s) of House Resolution
8, the yeas and nays are ordered.
[[Page H6693]]
Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this motion
are postponed.
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