Last Friday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill entitled, the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act (H.R. 6) in response to the current, ongoing opioid crisis.  This bill will serve as the legislative vehicle for many of the 55 other House-passed bills designed to curb opioid addiction. 

The legislative package, which advanced by a vote of 396-14, would incorporate a number of proposals from the House Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means Committees related to Medicare, Medicaid, and public health.  This bill was largely put together by House Energy and Commerce Chairman Greg Walden of Oregon and Ranking Member Frank Pallone of New Jersey, along with Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady of Texas and Ranking Member Richard Neal of Massachusetts. 

The proposed Medicare changes in the bill include incentivizing the use of post-surgical injections instead of opioids for pain management by reinstating reimbursement for them.  The bill would also require electronic prescriptions for medications that are controlled substances under Medicare Part D, in addition to requiring CMS to evaluate the effectiveness of telehealth in treating substance use disorder. 

The text of H.R. 6 is available here.