Join 3:00pm ET CEPOP June All-Participants Call
CEPOP will be hosting its June All-Participants Teleconference this afternoon at 3:00pm ET. We’re pleased to be joined by Geoffrey Laredo, who will share updates on the Bipartisan Policy Center’s recently launched Opioid Crisis Task Force.
CEPOP All-Participants Teleconference (June 2021)
- To join WebEx, please CLICK HERE
- Or, to join via conference call:
- Conference Line: (855) 244-8681
- Participant Code: 299 655 082
FDA FY22 Budget Request Proposes Increase Funding for Opioid Initiative
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently released their FY 22 budget request, which earmarks $38 million of their $6.5 billion request to examine opioid abuse, misuse, addiction, overdose and death in the United States and advance their goal of ending the opioid crisis. The FDA’s request includes an increase of $26 million for the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER), an increase of $10 million for the Office of Regulatory Affairs (ORA), and an increase of $2 million for the Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH). FDA has noted that a portion of CDER’s funding will support developing opioid overdose reversal and opioid use disorder (OUD) treatments, evaluating opioid packaging and disposal requirements, and assessing the feasibility of integrating Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS) education into electronic health records. ORA’s funding will support fraud prevention and would establish laboratories to screen for illicit and counterfeit opioids, while CDRH funding would support digital health technologies for both patients with OUD and their healthcare providers. In a statement on the agency’s website, FDA Acting Commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock stated “our goal is to provide Americans experiencing OUD with more therapeutic options and greater support throughout their recovery. The FDA will continue our efforts to address the national opioid crisis in FY 2022 and beyond.”
Articles & Resources
FDA – FDA’s Budget: Advancing the Goal of Ending the Opioid Crisis
Bipartisan Bill Reintroduced to Require Prescribers to Complete SUD Treatment Training
Last week, Senators Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and Susan Collins (R-ME) reintroduced the Medication Access and Training Expansion (MATE) Act, which would require all prescribers of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) controlled substances, who are not already qualified, to complete a one-time training on treating patients with substance use disorder (SUD). The bill would also allow certain professional schools to incorporate addiction medicine education to their curricula to fulfill the training requirement for their students and would authorize the federal government to provide grants to schools to develop trainings for prescribers on how to identify and treat SUDs. In a press release, Senator Bennet said, “over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, the addiction epidemic has continued to rage, devastating families and communities across the country. This is a crisis that desperately needs our attention. The MATE Act will better equip our health care system to identify, treat, and prevent addiction, as well as improve pain management by educating providers, addressing racial bias, and standardizing training nationwide.” This bill was previously introduced in the Senate during the 116th Congress, and companion legislation was introduced in the House in March.
Articles & Resources
Senator Bennet – Bennet, Collins Introduce Legislation to Significantly Expand Opioid, Substance Use Training for Providers Nationwide
Bipartisan House Measure Would Allow Patients to Decline Treatment with Opioids
Representatives John Curtis (R-UT-03), Tom O’Halleran (D-AZ-01), David B. McKinley (R-WV-01), and Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE-AL) introduced the Non-Opioid Directive (NOD) Act, which would allow patients notify their healthcare providers if they want to opt out of treatments with opioids. The NOD Act would require that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) develop a non-opioid pain management form that can be included in the patient’s health record, would require that health plans make the form available to all enrollees and healthcare providers, and would also allow patients to revoke the non-opioid pain management request at any time and for any reason. The bill would also allow for provider exceptions if opioids are deemed medically necessary and would provide liability protections to providers who mistakenly administer opioids. In a press release, Representative Curtis said, “this commonsense legislation gives patients better control of their health care by giving them the ability to decline the use of opiates for all future health care needs. I look forward to working across the aisle to getting this important legislation signed into law.” Companion legislation was introduced in the Senate in April.
Articles & Resources
Representative John Curtis – Curtis Introduces Bipartisan Legislation to Empower Patients to Take Control of Their Pain Treatment
What We Read Last Week
Several articles were published last week pertaining to the opioid epidemic, covering a variety of different components of the issue. Links to relevant articles are provided below.
Articles & Resources
Associated Press – In Pandemic, Drug Overdose Deaths Soar Among Black Americans
Bloomberg Government – Colorado Extends Drug Tracking Program Despite Shortcomings
Bloomberg Government – Michigan Lawmakers Announce Bills After Opioid Deaths Spike
FDA – Individual Sentenced To 72 Months For Conspiracy To Possess With Intent To Distribute Fentanyl, Cocaine, And Heroin
Forensic – New Synthetic Opioid is 20x More Potent than Fentanyl
Health Affairs – Medicare’s Discriminatory Coverage Policies For Substance Use Disorders
Law360 – Mich. Clinic Workers Indicted In Alleged $6.6M Opioid Scheme
Law360 – Wis. Opioid Settlement Measure Clears State Legislature
Michigan Department of Health & Human Services – New dashboard provides data on recent trends in drug overdoses, utilization of prevention and harm reduction services
NPR – Overdose Deaths Rose During The War On Drugs, But Efforts To Reduce Them Face Backlash
Pharmacy Times – Medications for Opioid Use Disorder and HIV Prevention Go Hand in Hand
Representative Mike Johnson – Johnson Announces $250,000 in Federal Grants to Combat Opioid Epidemic
Rutgers University – New Diagnostic Method May Predict Relapse Risk From Prescription Opioid Addiction
Senator Joe Manchin – Manchin to Biden: Nominate an FDA Commissioner Suited to Address Our Public Health Challenges Immediately
Stamford Advocate – Health economist: Opioids cost community $3.3B in damages
U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York – Former Amherst Pain Doctor Going To Prison For Illegal Prescribing And Defrauding Medicare
UN Office on Drugs and Crime – UNODC World Drug Report 2021: pandemic effects ramp up drug risks, as youth underestimate cannabis dangers
This Week’s Calendar
In the week ahead, there are no relevant events or hearings noticed at this time. In the event that there are any changes to the schedule for this week, we will make additional information available.
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