House passing bills to fight opioid addiction
WASHINGTON — The House Wednesday moved to pass a bipartisan package of bills to battle America’s growing epidemic of painkiller abuse and heroin addiction, but the White House said the legislation won’t accomplish much unless Congress provides more than $1 billion to fund the new programs.
House members are expected to overwhelmingly pass a total of 18 bills this week focused on opioid addiction, treatment and prevention.
On Wednesday, the House voted 412-4 to approve a bill by Rep. Susan Brooks, R-Ind., and Joe Kennedy, D-Mass., to create an interagency task force to update standards for doctors to manage their patients’ pain and prescribe painkillers.
“We’ve got to get people off of the pain meds, so these people will not turn to heroin,” Brooks said.
The House also approved by voice vote a bill by Rep. Larry Bucshon encouraging the Obama administration to raise the limit on the number of patients a doctor can treat with a mild narcotic that helps addicts cope with withdrawal symptoms, making it easier for an addict to find a doctor who can prescribe the drug.
“The evidence is clear that this epidemic is growing and will continue to grow unless immediate action is taken,” Bucshon said.
The House has devoted the majority of this week to the issue. Their bills must be reconciled with legislation already approved by the Senate.
Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., praised the bipartisan action but said it must be fully funded to do any good. Democrats offered an amendment to provide $600 million in emergency funding, but it was blocked by Republicans who said the money will come later when Congress passes its 2017 spending bills for federal agencies.
“We need to not only pass these bills, but we need to commit in a bipartisan way that we’re going to provide the necessary funding, and I hope we can do that,” McGovern said. “If we don’t do that, all the speeches that we give this week will amount to empty rhetoric.”
The White House echoed that sentiment in a statement Tuesday night that noted that four in five new heroin users started out by abusing prescription pain medicine. President Barack Obama has requested $1.1 billion to fight opioid addiction.
Each day, 44 people die in the United States from an overdose of prescription painkillers, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Drug overdose is now the the leading cause of accidental death in the U.S., surpassing car crashes, according to the American Society of Addiction Medicine.
“These trends will not change by simply authorizing new grant programs, studies and reports,” the White House said. “Congressional action is needed to fund the tools communities need to confront this epidemic and accelerate important policies like training health care providers on appropriate opioid prescribing, an essential component of this effort.”
Indiana exceeded all but eight states in the number of pain prescriptions written per 100 people in 2012 — more than a bottle of pills for every Hoosier, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Yet only five states rank lower than Indiana in the ability of opioid addicts to access buprenorphine, a drug used in treatment programs to reduce opioid cravings.
It’s also a national issue as the federal government limits doctors to treating 100 opioid addicts at a time with buprenorphine, which has been proven far more effective than detox or abstinence.
The administration has proposed raising the limit to 200 patients.
“Are we firm in our commitment to combat the addiction to heroin?” asked Rep. Paul Tonko, D-N.Y.
Bucshon spokesman Nick McGee said Bucshon hopes the original version of the legislation is ultimately approved when the House bill is reconciled with the Senate bill, as long as it is paid for. The Senate bill would raise the limit to 500 patients.
In addition to encouraging an increase in the patient limit on buprenorphine treatment, the bill would modify rules to expand treatment access in other ways. It would also allow prescriptions for addictive drugs to be partially filled to reduce the risk of abuse.
In March, the Senate voted 94-1 to pass the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act. The bill authorizes the attorney general to provide grants to states, local governments and nonprofit groups for programs to strengthen prescription drug monitoring, improve treatment for addicts, and expand prevention, education and law enforcement initiatives.
The legislation authorizes $725 million for federal grants but does not allocate any actual funds, which would have to be approved as part of legislation to fund federal agencies for the 2017 fiscal year. Senate Republicans blocked an effort by Democrats to add $600 million in emergency money to the bill.
Email Maureen Groppe at mgroppe@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter: @mgroppe
Filed under: General Problems
This is completely insane. People who are in chronic pain should be able to have these pills.
We have got to make sure our side is heard, as chronic pain patients, as human beings in pain. Those of us that are compliant and have documented, painful conditions requiring pain medications to have any semblance of a life need to speak up! We can lament and complain to each other all day long, but we already know what will happen. We already know what to expect. Yes, there are some people whom are legitimate pain patients that are completely compliant out there, that will turn to street drugs in an effort to find any measure of relief because the only other alternative for some is death. I can’t say that I would, but I have a hard time placing blame on those that will end up there because they are being FORCED to choose between street drugs and suicide. If we could “mind over matter” pain away, why wouldn’t we have done that well before asking a doctor for pharmaceutical help? Not everyone will find relief with marijuana, either. This whole issue is FAR more complex than its being made to seem. That’s why we need to speak up and speak out! We are being told to just go back to the treatments that we have all tried already that have FAILED us. We are being told that we don’t need anything stronger than an OTC med. Those statements right there show that we have already been judged and convicted of being junkies, without even a glance given to the wide assortment of painful conditions that a person can suffer from and many of us have multiple chronic & painful conditions. That being said, there are many of us that cannot afford the “treatments” that have been recommended. Those that are certified disabled by the SocIal Security Administration know that these treatments they are touting as the cure for our pain, have limits! For instance, as a medicaid patient, I only get 9 visits with P.T. a year and God forbid that, if I was to use all 9 of my visits because of pain, that I have an accident that requires P.T. to help me walk again or something. I get about the same number for chiropractic visits. The problem with both of those things is that, the whole reason that I quit both of them was because they cause me MORE pain. The practitioners can swear they are helping me all they want. It has gotten to the point where I want to shake people when they tell me what is helping me and what isn’t. How would they know unless I tell them? I have heard, “Oh but you look so much better” or “You are walking better though, it must be working” so many times I want to scream. They literally almost killed me that way with Lyrica too. I kept telling them it was making me sick and they kept telling me that it must be working. Again, how would they know? Then there are people that have co-pays and deductibles for appointments and procedures. If a person has chronic pain and is disabled, where is all of the money to pay for this crap supposed to come from anyway? I know they are hoping that we will all just see the “error of our ways” and make exodus to any of their many treatment facilities, but from what I have seen, it isn’t going to happen. Personally, I would rather take my chances with dying from my blood pressure shooting through the roof because I have intractable pain, when they take my meds, than call myself an addict just to get into one of their detox centers. We need to show them that we won’t be bullied into anything by them. Yes, we may be a weakened group of people but we are going to have to pull it together to make ourselves heard. Even those that have doctors that are still making sure that they have pain medication. If they pass all the cockamamey legislation that they are trying to, NO ONE will be safe. If they tell your doctor they can’t do it anymore, they won’t have a choice but to cut you off. Better to stand up for yourself and your fellow sufferers BEFORE that happens. We may make no difference at all but we need to try. For myself, Ill be 37 years old this year, I will have no life. I won’t even have a place to be in excruciating pain at, I’ll be homeless too. Thrown away like garbage. And to think we go to war with other countries over crap like this……
Hello Chris I’m 37 from ohio…. I do agree my only issue is I’m on an abuse deterrent medication called Kadien it morphine sulfate ER capsules 60mg once a day. Now I was recently just switched to this & have been on in past. I promise you it truly hasn’t worked,unfortunately. Now I’ve been on the oxycotin abuse deterrent at 40 mg and did okay. I was on oxycodone before this Kadien and let me tell you it helped way better. I was told it’s due to the filers some companies use. Idk ,I do know alot of chronic pain pts. feel this doesn’t work. I wish it would to be honest. It sucks being young and going through so much,I feel for you. I’ve been in pain since 2006/2007 so I know. And any pain medication is better than none! Thanks Jess
OK here is my thing. The fight/war on drugs has been going forever! Your not gonna stop a drug addict from wanting to get high. Unless you stop the drugs. So spend the money on preventing the illegal drugs from entering our country. Herion problem fixed. Now for us in pain. As I am a cronic pain patient as well at a young age of 34. Ok now my out look on opiod medications and prescribing them in the right does at the right moderations and so forth and preventing those that wanna get high from getting high, our goverment needs to work with the pharmacutical companys in making them abuse proof like they have they Oxycotins and the Opanas. Back in 2012 purdua pharmacutical was made to do this with there oxycotins as they was saying there was billions of lawsuits from familys that had lost there love ones from overdoses do to medications. I dont care if they make all narcotic medications abuse proof. Sorry for my mispelling and gramer errors as I am by far perfect. Ive been threw alot mentally after my injuries and just have not been the same. I guess to make it simple is the goverment is going about this the wrong way. I feel if they wanna make things better they can do that, but as it was said above its all about money and power and control. What happend to America. The USA the HOme of the free and the land of the brave. I see that we are losing so many right and its like I hate to see what is to come. Take and do your best to eliminate the street drugs from entering our country. Work with the pharmacutical companys and the Drs/providers that treat and presribe us these meds to make them abuse proof. teach them the proper way to prescribe them and the illness that they should prescribe them for. Ok anyhow Im sorry for going on and on and annoying my fellow americans in pain. my names Chris Im from Ohio and just sick and tired of being sick and tired. Tired of living everyday in so much pain. Just want to live a normal life that a 34 year old should be living. I hope Ive made some good points and some people agree with me. Im sure Im gonna get some bashing and dogging but its ok Ive lived my whole life around negative people. Now I wanna support and give a word to my fellow american in pain. God Bless and I wish everyone the best. Thank you
OMG…this is from Susan Brooks twitter on the bill she and Patrick Kennedy sponsored. ….”review and update CDC guidelines” ??? and of course her misinformed statement above is worrisome “We’ve got to get people off of the pain meds, so these people will not turn to heroin,” Brooks said. WHAT????? That statement is so stupid it’s scary! So …no opioid medications ever?
Tweet from Susan Brooks Indiana:
“Overwhelming support today for @RepJoeKennedy & my bill to create a taskforce to review & update CDC guidelines for prescribing opioids.”
God help us from politicians who are now practicing medicine without a license. Aren’t there laws around that?
Agree!Yeah worst statement I’ve ever seen..are they idiots? Never mind . .yesss they are!!!
Steve thanks for this artical! This is horrible & I just keep on getting more & more pissed!! What did we chronic pain pts do to ever deserve this? I just don’t get it!! Doctors are not your doctor’s anymore, they are. When did they go to school to receive their degree to become our doctor’s & pharmacist?? This is so unfair. Like someone else said we don’t wanna be in this pain,we want a cure!! Since that’s not happening & most of us has tried most everything before even considering pain killer’s and follow the rules then why can’t we have them. I’m fine with following rules to get my medicine I need to function 24/7. It’s worth it as long as I’m being treated as a patient with respect.I understand they can’t have people on pain medication abusing them. So if we follow the rules,they do drug take back programs and separate us from the addicts and provide more help and more available help for addiction this would help I would think? I’m so sick of being put into the same category as Heroin addicts. I’m a pain patient, with ligament pain & well documented pain. Just let us have the medicine we need to be apart of our families life’s please!!! Vote these people out and share this and other stories. We have to do something!
I so totally agree with you here.
Thanks Chris! I just don’t get why this is happening to good people!
Who are they kidding? There is no way ever would I try Heroin. I don’t know what country they are looking at? This may be true but it does not apply to people with legitament pain. I belong to a group of mothers with fibromyalgia and I can tell you these lady’s are in agony and would never do herion. It is the people who are lying about their pain and are looking for drugs. And then turn to herion. The Senate has it all wrong, Because I do not know anyone looking for heroin in our fibromyalgia group. This is obsurd!
Get the facts right before you start passing bills and killing innocent people with legit pain. Because there’s going to be lots of us just wanting to die due to our constant pain.
Let’s try alternate medication that works first before we start passing bills and leaving people with no alternative.
Do you think we want to be in pain? Do you think we love staying home everyday? Do you think we don’t think about what to do to get out of this pain? Do you think we like being treated as drug addicts? No
And of course it’s “we’ve got to get people off painkillers so they won’t turn to heroin”. …..that’s one hell of a loaded statement! Grrrrr!!
You’re so right Anne-what the hell do they mean take away painkillers to stop heroin abuse??!!? That is such a ridiculous deduction I cannot even understand how they can utter the words!! I mean heroin addiction has been around for how long? Why all of a sudden are painkilling medications the reason addicts stick needles in their arms?
Addiction is a disease in & of itself-pain relieving medications do not equal disease. Two different animals-chronic pain kills which is the crucial element being forgotten in this scenario.
Killing people in pain is not going to cure addiction -it only kills innocent people already in agony who have done nothing to deserve their plight.
America has gone heartless & greedy for power & money.
We live in a deteriorating country, sliding backwards in their treatment of citizens…………..
we need to let people out of prison on federal non violent drug charges who are given long sentences instead of drug rehab incarceration is costing this country billions///// rll
I think her email needs flooded with the correct information from ACTUAL patients not junk science from the media. I don’t know what district in my state she represents. I know it’s not any of the ones close to me because I’m not familiar with her.
dam right on my way!!!!!!!idiots,,,stay out of my body and stop being Dr.Government!!!mary
Yes. And someone who has the numbers at their fingertips that refute the incorrect numbers the CDC spouts off (and then continue to be regurgitated by each and every news organization) should write to this reporter. The numbers are just plain wrong for a variety of reasons.
I have 2 doctor appointments today so I can’t do the digging today. But I will write to this reporter and state 2 main points:
1) Even using the flawed inflated numbers, overdose deaths from pain pills AND heroin combined does not fit ANY definition of an EPIDEMIC. What happened to news, just the news, reporting facts without the spin? This is Journalism 101.
2) People who need this medication to manage their chronic debilitating pain will not magically be cured of their condition. They have already tried the alternatives that are being offered by the CDC to manage their chronic pain and those alternative did not work. I heard some number that said two million people are taking opiates for long-term chronic pain. I don’t know the accuracy of that number but my question is this: What is the plan for 2,000,000 human beings? WHAT IS THE PLAN?