ROOT Act of 2018

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5775) to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to require Medicare Advantage plans and part D prescription drug plans to include information on the risks associated with opioids, coverage of certain nonopioid treatments used to treat pain, and on the safe disposal of prescription drugs, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 5775, currently under consideration.

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

Mr. Speaker, I stand today in strong support of H.R. 5775, the Providing Reliable Options for Patients and Educational Resources Act, or the PROPER Act.

This is a bipartisan bill centered on increasing educational resources for Medicare beneficiaries and improving pain-related questions contained in patient satisfaction surveys.

H.R. 5775, introduced by my colleagues Erik Paulsen, Ron Kind, Brian Fitzpatrick, Bruce Poliquin, and Conor Lamb, contain several bills to combat the opioid crisis, including H.R. 5686, the Medicare CHOICE Act; H.R. 5714, the Education for Disposal of Unused Opioids Act; and H.R. 5719, the Reduce Overprescribing Opioids in Treatment, or ROOT Act.

Unfortunately, my home State of Florida has seen a dramatic increase in opioid-related overdose deaths in the past several years. Every year, thousands of Floridians become addicted and lose their lives to opioid addiction.

Effective alternatives to opioids, such as physical therapy and medical devices exist, and in most instances are covered by Medicare.

However, many seniors and providers simply aren't aware of the coverage options. Education is a key tool for seniors to make informed decisions about their healthcare.

For this reason, the Ways and Means Committee sprang into action and passed H.R. 5775 unanimously. This bill contains provisions authored by my colleagues Erik Paulsen and Ron Kind to inform seniors about alternative nonaddictive pain management therapies covered by Medicare.

This bill also includes a provision led by my colleagues Diane Black, Joe Crowley, Richard Hudson, and Raul Ruiz to educate seniors on safe disposal of unused controlled substances.

Lastly, this bill includes another provision led by Diane Black and Tom O'Halleran requiring the Secretary of Health and Human Services to remove all pain-related questions contained in Medicare's hospital patient surveys unless the individual experiencing the pain is also informed about the risks associated with the use of opioids and given information on nonopioid alternatives for the treatment of pain.

Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleagues for their strong bipartisan work. This bill will make a difference in addressing the opioid epidemic that continues to devastate many Americans and their families.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

House of Representatives,

Committee on Ways and Means,

Washington, DC, June 8, 2018.

Hon. Greg Walden,

Chairman, Committee on Energy and Commerce,

Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Walden: I write to you regarding several

opioid bills the Committee on Ways and Means ordered

favorably reported to address the opioid epidemic. The

following bills were also referred to the Committee on Energy

and Commerce.

I ask that the Committee on Energy and Commerce waive

formal consideration of the following bills so that they may

proceed expeditiously to the House Floor:

H.R. 5774, Combatting Opioid Abuse for Care in Hospitals

(COACH) Act;

H.R. 5775, Providing Reliable Options for Patients and

Educations Resources (PROPER) Act;

H.R. 5776, Medicare and Opioid Safe Treatment (MOST) Act;

H.R. 5773, Preventing Addition for Susceptible Seniors

(PASS) Act;

H.R. 5676, Stop Excessive Narcotics in our Retirement

(SENIOR) Communities Protection Act; and

H.R. 5723, Expanding Oversight of Opioid Prescribing and

Payment Act.

I acknowledge that by waiving formal consideration of the

bills, the Committee on Energy and Commerce is in no way

waiving its jurisdiction over the subject matter contained in

those provisions of the bills that fall within your Rule X

jurisdiction. I would support your effort to seek appointment

of an appropriate number of conferees on any House-Senate

conference involving this legislation.

I will include a copy of our letters in the Congressional

Record during consideration of this legislation on the House

floor.

Sincerely,

Kevin Brady,

Chairman.

Madam Speaker, the PROPER Act will bring much needed education to our seniors.

This bill was brought through the committee process in a bipartisan fashion, and now on the floor I strongly urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to vote in favor of H.R. 5775, the PROPER Act.

This is another example of how Republicans and Democrats can come together, can work together, to help struggling families in our country, and in this case seniors, who should be aware of all the different options that are available to them for pain treatment and should certainly be aware of the many risks associated with opioid use.

Madam Speaker, I am grateful to all my colleagues and to committee staff for all their work on this legislation, and I strongly encourage everyone to support it, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Madam Speaker, I offer my support of H.R. 5775, the PROPER Act. This bill, introduced by my colleagues Representatives Paulsen and Kind, would require Medicare Advantage and Medicare part D plans to provide information to beneficiaries on the risks associated with prolonged opioid use, as well as coverage information about alternatives, like nonpharmacological therapies, devices, and nonopioid medications.

It is important to ensure that our providers in hospitals and outpatient settings have up-to-date and accurate information about opioid use. But it is equally critical that this information is provided to beneficiaries.

Additionally, providing information on coverage of alternative therapies could help beneficiaries who may want to try a nonopioid pain management therapy to do so, thus avoiding a prescription where it may not be necessary.

This bill also requires that by January 1, 2019, all pain-related questions be removed from the hospital consumer assessment of healthcare providers and systems survey, with some exceptions.

If hospitals are graded on how much pain patients are feeling, they likely would seek to minimize the patient's pain through pain management drugs like opioids.

In order to properly address this crisis in the Medicare program, we must ensure that beneficiaries have the information necessary to make informed decisions about their pain management plan.

Madam Speaker, just as we are working to improve provider education, we must not leave our Medicare beneficiaries behind.

I support this bill because it would ensure that Medicare Advantage and Medicare part D plans provide their beneficiaries with information on the risks of prolonged opioid use, as well as information about coverage for alternatives for pain management.

Earlier in this debate, I mentioned a woman who testified that although she was experiencing severe back pain, she did not want to risk taking addictive pain medication and instead turned to acupuncture. It worked for her, and she told me that because of her acupuncture treatment, she was able to live pain free.

Now, this is not to say that every alternative will work for every patient, but we should give patients the ability to choose their own pain management therapy. I believe H.R. 5775 is an important step toward this goal.

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