Special Registration for Telemedicine Clarification Act of 2018

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5483) to impose a deadline for the promulgation of interim final regulations in accordance with section 311(h) of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 831(h)) specifying the circumstances in which a special registration may be issued to a practitioner to engage in the practice of telemedicine, and for other purposes, 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 materials in the Record on the bill.

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

Mr. Speaker, many patients have limited access to mental health and substance use disorder services, particularly Americans who live outside of metropolitan areas. To increase access to specialized care, this legislation requires the Attorney General to issue waivers to healthcare providers to prescribe medication-assisted treatment, or MAT, for emergency situations, like the lack of access to an in-person specialist.

Under a previous version of the bill, the DEA would have had up to 90 days to complete this task. At their request, this committee favorably reported an amendment extending this window to 1 year.

Finalizing the rules for the special waiver process is on the unified agenda of the Justice Department at DEA. That is a signal that they understand the need to implement this provision of law.

We have the opportunity to consider this bill today because of the faithful dedication and thoughtful legislating of Representatives Buddy Carter of Georgia and Cheri Bustos of Illinois.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Carter) to speak on this legislation, our resident pharmacist, the only one, I believe, in the entire U.S. House of Representatives, who has

been a terrific asset as we have dealt with these issues of drugs and drug abuse and addiction, or addiction treatment, and trying to find the best paths forward.

Mr. Speaker, Members should support this very important legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, 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. 5483, legislation that will direct the Drug Enforcement Agency to take action to allow registered healthcare practitioners to practice telemedicine. I want to thank our Democratic sponsor, Mrs. Bustos from Illinois.

If we are to end the cycle of opioid abuse and addiction, more must be done to help provide those suffering with access to treatment. However, I am optimistic that the legislation before us now authored by Representatives Bustos and Carter will offer one way forward to providing more individuals suffering from addiction with access to treatment by enabling the use of telemedicine.

Telemedicine offers one opportunity to potentially reach more patients who could not otherwise access treatment, whether due to geographic reasons, provider access issues, financial concerns about in-person treatment, or the stigma of seeking treatment.

While DEA has the authority to establish a special registration pathway for purposes of treating a patient via telemedicine, DEA has not acted to do so to date. The Special Registration for Telemedicine Clarification Act of 2018 would direct the Attorney General to issue regulations establishing a special registration process for engaging in the practice of telemedicine within a year of enactment.

This approach will enable telemedicine to finally be deployed in treating patients with addiction, while still allowing DEA to ensure that there are appropriate safeguards in place to mitigate against the use of telemedicine in any manner that could further exacerbate the opioid crisis.

This is practical legislation that I believe will help open access to treatment, and I urge my colleagues to vote in support of the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Bustos), the sponsor of the bill.

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 gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, in 2008 Congress strengthened prohibitions against inappropriately distributing and dispensing controlled substances online by passing the Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act.

The Ryan Haight Act made it illegal for a practitioner to dispense controlled substances through the Internet without at least one in- person patient evaluation. The law included the ability for the Attorney General to issue a special registration to healthcare providers detailing in what circumstances they could prescribe controlled substances via telemedicine in legitimate emergency situations, such as a lack of access to an in-person specialist.

However, the waiver process has never been implemented through regulation. Thus, some patients still do not have access to care that they need.

The Special Registration for Telemedicine Clarification Act directs the Attorney General to promulgate interim final regulations within 1 year after passage of the law. The 62 million Americans living in rural communities are more likely to be older, poorer, and suffer higher rates of chronic disease than their urban counterparts.

Furthermore, a disproportionate number of Americans living in rural communities are struggling with prescription opioid abuse. We must ensure that these individuals are able to access the care that they need.

Mr. Speaker, I urge Members to support this bipartisan legislation co-led by my colleague across the aisle, Representative Bustos, to connect patients with the substance use disorder treatment they need without jeopardizing important safeguards to prevent misuse or diversion.

Mr. Speaker, the opioid epidemic has claimed the lives of too many across our Nation. Although no corner of our country has remained unscathed, the crisis is worse in rural America, where drug- related deaths are 45 percent higher.

When I travel around my district, a vast district--7,000 square miles, 14 counties--I am told time and time again that access to treatment remains one of the largest barriers to recovery in many of the small towns and rural communities that I serve. We don't have enough doctors. We don't have enough treatment centers. If we don't have those things, too many people don't have a chance.

That is why I worked with my colleague from Georgia, Congressman Buddy Carter, who also happens to be a pharmacist, to introduce the Special Registration for Telemedicine Clarification Act, with Democrats and Republicans working together in this endeavor.

This bill is a commonsense measure that cuts through the red tape to provide more treatment options to underserved communities through the use of telemedicine. Saving our sons, our daughters, our brothers, our sisters, our nieces, and our nephews from this epidemic is a priority for Democrats and for Republicans.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues from both sides of the aisle to support this legislation.