Safe Disposal of Unused Medication Act

Mr. Speaker, I thank Ranking Member Pallone for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, it is a good bipartisan day for Michigan right now. It shows you that when we want to work together, we can and do and are going to make a difference.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5041, the Safe Disposal of Unused Medication Act, which I am proud to sponsor with my colleague from Michigan (Mr. Walberg). I thank him for all of his good, hard work on this issue as we have learned together about things that are happening.

Hospices perform an essential role in our healthcare system and we need to make every effort to support hospice employees, who do incredible work providing care and comfort in those final days of life. We need to make their jobs as easy as possible.

We also need to make sure that we are doing everything we can to stop opportunities for the diversion of opioids. This is essential if we are going to make a real impact in ending this epidemic, which is so devastating to families in every corner of our country.

This is an important bill, which achieves both goals of supporting hospices and stopping opportunities for diversion. The Safe Disposal of Unused Medication Act closes a critical gap in our laws that prohibits hospice employees from disposing of unused opioids after a patient has, unfortunately, passed away.

Right now, the way the law is, if a patient dies in hospice care and they

have a large vial of unused opioids, the family cannot get any help from the hospice staff to dispose of them. For the family, these are very difficult moments. They have just lost a loved one and they don't need any additional problems, like trying to figure out how to dispose of the unneeded opioids.

This bill amends the Controlled Substances Act to permit hospice employees to handle controlled substances in a patient's residence in order to assist in drug disposal upon a patient's death. This commonsense fix is a win for patients and their families, a win for hospice employees, and a win for public health efforts to crack down on this diversion.

If we continue to improve our efforts to dispose of unused opioids, like what we are doing in this legislation, then we will continue to ensure there are fewer opportunities for those pills to end up in the hands of those who abuse them. By passing this legislation, we can provide for the safe destruction of thousands, literally hundreds of thousands, of unused opioids that might end up otherwise on the street and feed the addiction of too many.

I am pleased, as has been noted, that it has the support of both the National Association for Home Care and Hospice, as well as the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, I, again, thank my friend and colleague, Mr. Walberg, for his bipartisan work on this bill and other opioid issues, and I urge all Members to vote in favor of H.R. 5041.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5041, legislation offered by Representative Walberg, Representative Dingell, and Representative Hudson, that will allow hospice workers to safely dispose of controlled substances, thereby reducing the number of unused controlled substances that are at risk of diversion or misuse.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5041, legislation offered by Representatives Walberg, Dingell, and Hudson that will allow hospice workers to safely dispose of controlled substances, thereby reducing the number of unused controlled substances that are at risk of diversion or misuse.

The diversion of unused prescription opioids is one of the major contributors to the opioid crisis facing our country. It has been estimated that around 70 percent of those who abuse opioids receive them from a friend or family, making it critical that strategies be put in place that will limit the ability for leftover controlled substances to fall into the wrong hands.

Current regulations prevent hospice personnel from handling or destroying controlled substances following a patient's passing unless a state or locality allows them to do so under law. As a result, hospice workers have no choice but to leave behind controlled substances that may be at risk for abuse or misuse by those who were never intended to have access to such medications. H.R. 5041 would clarify that hospice workers would have the authority to handle controlled substances for purposes of disposal following a patient's passing.

H.R. 5041 also makes clear that hospice workers tasked with disposing of unneeded controlled substances receive training through a qualified hospice program on how to properly dispose of these substances to ensure they cannot be extracted for purposes of further abuse. In addition, the legislation would also require hospice personnel to keep records on the disposal of the controlled substance, including what controlled substances were destroyed, as well as the time and manner in which the disposal occurred.

I want to thank the sponsors of H.R. 5041, Representatives Walberg, Dingell, and Hudson for their work on this legislation, as well as the National Association for Home Care & Hospice and the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization for their support and thoughtful input.

Mr. Speaker, I urge Members to support this commonsense legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 5041, the Safe Disposal of Unused Medication Act is a bipartisan, commonsense bill that simply allows trained hospice personnel to dispose of unused medications in a patient's home once the patient has passed away.

For patients in hospice care, opioid medication can be effective in alleviating pain associated with the end-of-life care. Unfortunately, current DEA regulations restrict visiting home hospice personnel from disposing of leftover medication after the patient has passed away. As a result, hospice staff must leave behind dangerous medications that have a high risk for diversion or misuse.

In my home State of Michigan, we have seen some real challenges with the diversion and misuse of leftover medications that have contributed to the opioid crisis.

Earlier this year, the Energy and Commerce Committee heard testimony that just one hospice, caring for 2,000 patients per year, might be leaving behind tens of thousands of pills in need of disposal each year. According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, 1.4 million Medicare beneficiaries were enrolled in hospice care in 2016. This means hospice workers across the country are potentially leaving huge quantities of unused medication in a home after a patient's death.

Mr. Speaker, we must act to curb the diversion of these powerful prescriptions. We know that, tragically, many people begin the cycle of addiction through the misuse of prescription medication. Hospices and hospice personnel could play a key role in stopping that cycle before it begins by ensuring powerful drugs are disposed of in a responsible manner once they are no longer needed by the intended patient.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman and the committee staff for all of their hard work in getting this commonsense bill on the floor today, as well as my good friends Representative Debbie Dingell, who worked closely with me on this legislation, and Representative Richard Hudson, as well, for their support on this important legislation.

Mr. Speaker, again, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 5041.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5041) to amend the Controlled Substances Act to authorize the employees of a hospice program to handle controlled substances in the residence of a deceased hospice patient to assist in disposal, as amended.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, one of the best ways we can fight the opioid crisis is by decreasing diversion of prescription drugs. This bill does just that, giving hospice employees new tools to dispose of unused medications on-site after a patient's death.

During the committee process, several thoughtful amendments were offered to perfect this language. For example, one clarified that the training will be conducted by the hospice program, not the Federal Government.

Another added a recordkeeping standard for hospice programs to maintain information within patients' clinical charts of the controlled substance dosage, number of pills, and the way it is disposed of.

And finally, a technical amendment incorporated comments from the

Mr. Speaker, I have no other speakers on this matter, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no other speakers on this matter. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I was unable to be present for votes taken Tuesday, June 5, due to it being primary election day in California. I also missed votes on Tuesday, June 12. Had I been present, I would have voted as follows:

Roll Call Vote Number 231 (Passage of H.R. 5005): YES

Roll Call Vote Number 232 (Passage of H.R. 2991, the Susquehanna National Heritage Area Act): YES

Roll Call Vote Number 233 (Passage of H.R. 5655, the Camp Nelson Heritage National Monument Act): YES

Roll Call Vote Number 258 (Passage of H.R. 1815, the Comprehensive Opioid Recovery Centers Act): YES

Roll Call Vote Number 259 (Passage of H.R. 5041, the Safe Disposal of Unused Medication Act): YES

Roll Call Vote Number 260 (Approving the Journal): NO