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This week, I introduced a bill that would help fight the epidemic of opioid abuse in America. The Responsible Opioid Prescription Act would reform the program with the highest rate of opioid addiction, Medicaid, by reducing initial opioid prescriptions to a seven-day supply, and each subsequent refill to a 30-day supply. Patients receiving hospice or palliative care, treatment for cancer or are living in a long-term care or skilled nursing facility would be exempt from these limits.
When a patient receives more medication than is needed, two things can happen. First, they may take the medication until the bottle is empty because they were told to by a doctor, at which point they may develop a dependency. Second, when opioids get left in a medicine cabinet, an adolescent, relative or visitor can access them or distribute them for recreational use.
What this bill aims to do is limit distribution of these drugs at the source by aligning Medicaid’s prescribing guidelines with the recommendations of the Center for Disease Control.
Opioid abuse has been a problem in America for years now. While I still believe that it is an underpublicized problem, I am happy to see the press giving it more attention. I am hopeful that my legislation helps stem the drug dependency problem.
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