Jessie's Law

Mr. Speaker, I thank Ranking Member Pallone for yielding to me, and I again want to thank Chairman Walden for bringing this bill to the floor.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5009, Jessie's Law, and I am very proud of the work that I have done with my colleague, Tim Walberg, from Michigan. In Michigan, we are really trying to address this problem together.

This story is personal to me, as it is to Congressman Walberg and my colleagues who have gotten to know Jessie's story. It has been a moving experience to be part of a process to pass this legislation in her honor.

In March 2016, we lost a brave, young woman named Jessie Grubb. She was a great student, a loving daughter, a sister, and an avid runner. She was, as has been noted, recovering from an opioid addiction issue. She moved to Michigan hoping for a reset and a better future.

When she had surgery for an infection related to a running injury, her parents came to take care of her and made it clear to the doctors at the hospital that she was a recovering addict and should not be prescribed opioids. As you have heard, she was discharged from the hospital with 50 oxycodone pills. Very soon after, she suffered from a fatal overdose.

The story of Jessie breaks your heart, mostly because this death was preventable. We must ensure that doctors are notified when a patient has consented to sharing information related to an addiction.

Jessie's Law would require that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services establish best practices for ensuring that medical professionals have full knowledge of their patient's opioid addiction if that patient gives consent.

This is absolutely essential. If a patient has given their consent that their history of substance abuse can be part of their medical record, then it should be displayed prominently. We don't know all of the facts of this case, but we do know that Jessie's parents did tell her doctor that she had a history of substance abuse, and yet they were prescribed anyway. We can't have this kind of information lost in the jumble of a medical record. If a patient consents, it needs to be prominently displayed.

Our legislation convenes a panel of stakeholders to make recommendations as to how to best achieve this change, including a patient with a history of opioid use disorder, an expert in electronic health records, an expert in the confidentiality of patient health information and records, and a healthcare provider.

Jessie's death was 100 percent preventable. And today, the House of Representatives is sending a strong message that her loss was not in vain and that no other family should ever have to go through what the Grubb family has gone through. This story is a real tragedy. Hopefully, passing Jessie's Law will bring hope to the Grubbs and others throughout this country.

This legislation represents a commonsense step that deserves our support, and I urge my colleagues to support Jessie's Law.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5009) to include information concerning a patient's opioid addiction in certain medical records, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to insert extraneous materials in the Record on the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my strong support for H.R. 5009. This is known as Jessie's Law, and it is written in memory of Michigan resident Jessie Grubb, who tragically died of an opioid overdose in 2016.

This legislation will help ensure medical professionals have access to a consenting patient's complete health information when making treatment decisions. This is critical to ensure that mistakes, such as the one that tragically happened to Jessie Grubb, never ever, ever happen again.

This bill also incorporates the language of H.R. 5695, known as Emmett's Law, which would require the Department of Health and Human Services to develop best practices for healthcare providers on permitted disclosures of medical records during emergencies with families, caregivers, and other healthcare providers.

I thank my colleagues from Michigan, Representatives Tim Walberg and Debbie Dingell, for leading this important initiative, along with the collaboration and support of Representatives Evan Jenkins, Carol Shea- Porter, Tom MacArthur, Vicky Hartzler, Bob Latta, and David McKinley. They have all put a lot of time and effort into this to solve a problem many of us have encountered in our States and our districts.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Walberg), an author of this incredibly important piece of legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. I encourage my colleagues to support this legislation. I thank the Members from Michigan who brought it to our attention, and worked with the full Energy and Commerce Committee in bringing it to your disposal here on the floor.

Mr. Speaker, I urge passage, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5009.

Mr. Speaker, I support H.R. 5009.

As we know, opioid use a disorder is a medical condition that requires lifelong management. Even if someone has completed treatment successfully and is in long-term recovery, the risk of relapse remains.

A patient recovering from opioid use disorder may visit a healthcare provider or require medical interventions that typically result in the need to treat pain.

However, for those affected with opioid use disorder, a prescription of an opioid medication could cause individuals to relapse into misuse and lead to an overdose or even death.

H.R. 5009, Jessie's Law, is bipartisan legislation introduced by Rep. Walberg (R-MI) and Rep. Dingell (D-MI) that would require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to convene appropriate stakeholders and develop best practices for displaying opioid use disorder history prominently on a patient's medical records, whenever requested by a patient.

This legislation would enable patients suffering from opioid use disorder to choose to share their history with opioids with healthcare providers and have that information prominently displayed in their medical record--allowing for better informed, safer pain management care.

This legislation would also require HHS to annually develop and disseminate written materials to health care providers regarding permitted disclosures of certain information to families, caregivers, and health care providers under Federal health care privacy laws during emergencies.

This will improve the awareness of providers of instances in which they may share information about a patient's overdose with their family.

I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. Dingell), one of the sponsors, Mrs. Dingell.

Mr. Speaker, I also urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding, and I thank Congresswoman Debbie Dingell for working with me on this bipartisan legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5009, Jessie's Law.

Everywhere I go in Michigan, I hear about the opioid crisis. It truly is the crisis next door. For many of our friends and loved ones, the terrifying realities of addiction are difficult to escape.

The story behind Jessie's Law is a tragic one. The bill is named in memory of Jessie Grubb, a young woman living in Michigan at the time she died of an opioid overdose. Jessie was training for a marathon when a running injury required her to undergo surgery.

Before the procedure, Jessie and her parents informed the hospital that she was in recovery from addiction; however, that information never made it to her discharging physician. Jessie was unknowingly discharged from the hospital with a prescription for oxycodone, which ultimately led to her death. If Jessie's history of addiction had been noted on her chart in a manner similar to other potentially lethal medical concerns, like a drug allergy, Jessie might still be here today.

Jessie's tragic story was entirely preventable and is an example of why we need commonsense legislation like Jessie's Law.

Jessie's Law will require the Department of Health and Human Services to establish best practices for hospitals and physicians for sharing information about a patient's past opioid addiction when that information is willingly shared by the patients with their doctor. By ensuring medical professionals are equipped with the right processes and tools to safely treat their patients, we can prevent future overdose tragedies like Jessie's.

Mr. Speaker, the opioid crisis is devastating the dreams of a generation. Let's pass Jessie's Law today and help save lives in our communities.