Digital Debut
Congress Continues to Move Opioid Legislation
What this means for ASCs
BY JEFF EVANS | JUNE 2018
As summer approaches, our country’s top legislators are considering manifold measures to help improve opioid abuse. Just this week, the full US House of Representatives voted on dozens of bills, with dozens more on the docket for next week. On Tuesday, June 12, the US Senate Finance Committee voted 27-0 to send 22 unique measures, held collectively as the Helping to End Addiction and Lessen (HEAL) Substance Abuse Disorders Act, to the whole Senate. Among numerous provisions, the HEAL Act would require health care professionals to use electronic prescribing for Medicare-covered drugs with certain controlled substances. In April, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee advanced the Opioid Crisis Response Act of 2018, which comprises more than 40 provisions to help build innovation, research, product safety, treatment, recovery and other programs as they relate to opioids.