Griffith Amendment Passes Health Subcommittee in Bill to Help Prevent Opioid Overdose Deaths

Press Release

The Health Subcommittee today voted on a number of bipartisan bills as part of the House Energy and Commerce Committee's ongoing efforts to combat our nation's opioid and drug abuse crisis. Among the bills passing the subcommittee was the Co-Prescribing to Reduce Overdoses Act (H.R. 3680), legislation introduced by Congressman John Sarbanes (D-MD) to create a grant program for co-prescribing of opioid reversal drugs for patients who are at a high risk of overdose.

Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) successfully included an amendment in the Co-Prescribing to Reduce Overdoses Act. Griffith's amendment builds on bipartisan language developed by U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) and U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) calling on the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop best practices for prescribing naloxone, a medication designed to counter the effects of an opioid and prevent overdose, to patients who are at an elevated risk of overdose for opioids or heroin. This would include those who may or may not be in treatment for opioid addiction. Griffith incorporated technical assistance from HHS into his amendment to ensure these best practices do not cause liability concerns for medical providers. Additionally, there is no new expenditure associated with the development of these best practices, as HHS would use existing authorizations.

Griffith said, "Too many Americans have been lost to opioid abuse. While many of these deaths are preventable, as with similar issues, there is no simple fix for this public health crisis. Accordingly my colleagues and I on the Energy and Commerce Committee have held numerous hearings over the last year to further educate ourselves on opioid abuse, how it is treated, and how to better assist victims, their loved ones, and communities throughout the country. While I am encouraged by the bipartisan bills that today passed the Health Subcommittee and am pleased by my colleagues' support of my amendment, we must diligently continue our important work on combating this growing epidemic."

On March 9, 2015, Griffith led a bipartisan group of his colleagues in sending a letter to Administration officials including Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell, Office of National Drug Control Policy Director Michael Botticelli, and Office of Management and Budget Director Shaun Donovan prompting the Administration to propose and put in place new, innovative best practices to integrate naloxone throughout the health care delivery system.

Another bill passed today by Griffith and his colleagues on the Health Subcommittee was the Nurturing and Supporting Healthy Babies Act (H.R. 4978). Authored by Congressman Evan Jenkins (R-WV) and Congresswoman Cheri Bustos (D-IL), this legislation would require the Comptroller General of the United States to issue a report one year after the legislation's enactment on neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS).

The full Energy and Commerce Committee is expected to soon consider these measures, and the full House of Representatives expects to vote on opioid bills in May.

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