Substance Use-Disorder Prevention That Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities Act

Floor Speech

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Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Madam President, eight Americans die of a drug overdose every hour.

In 2016, more Americans died from drug overdoses than during the entire Vietnam war.

The 2017 figures are even worse. Preliminary estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that over 71,000 individuals lost their lives to drugs. More than 5,000 of those individuals were Californians. Addiction has never had such a profound impact on our country.

On October 26, 2017, the Trump administration declared the opioid epidemic a public health emergency. However, this has done little to stem the tide of overdose deaths or to effect this public health crisis that has a stronghold on our communities.

Our government can and must do more. It is not enough to declare the obvious, that this epidemic is an emergency.

As with any emergency, triage must begin immediately. That means swiftly executing and implementing whole-of-government strategy to end the devastation. That also means rapidly infusing funds to support this strategy and prevent more deaths.

The Opioid Crisis Response Act of 2018 does just this. It provides a roadmap for action and authorizes the necessary funds to allow the government to better triage care for those in need while simultaneously providing resources necessary to keep these drugs off the street.

This legislation recognizes that there is no one size fits all approach when it comes to effectively addressing addiction. That is why it consolidates bills that span five committees, including six from the Judiciary Committee.

The bipartisan Opioid Crisis Response Act establishes a number of new drug prevention and treatment programs. It also extends other critical agencies and programs, including the Office of National Drug Control Policy and the Drug-Free Communities, the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas, and drug court programs.

Moreover, the bill provides the Justice Department with new legal authority to hold opioid manufacturers and distributors accountable if they fail to identify, report, and stop suspicious orders of opioids.

The bill also preserves legitimate access to pain medications, while allowing the Drug Enforcement Administration to consider, for the first time, factors like drug abuse and overdose deaths when setting annual production quotas for certain opioids.

The Opioid Crisis Response Act effectively balances prevention, treatment, recovery, and law enforcement.

This legislation bolsters the efforts of our public health experts, gives law enforcement and first responders the authority and resources they need to combat illicit narcotics, and will help spur the development of alternative therapies and drugs to help decrease our nation's reliance on opioids.

The fact that this bill includes proposals that were sponsored or cosponsored by more than half of the members of this body illustrates that virtually no State, no community, and no family is left untouched by addiction. It is also indicative of the fact that we must act, and we must act urgently.

We must treat this public health crisis like the emergency that it is. We must stop the devastation.

I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to see that this important piece of legislation, which is supported by more than 200 organizations nationwide, is enacted into law.

Thank you.

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Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Madam President, as the Senate debates the Patient Right to Know Drug Prices Act, S. 2554, I rise to offer my views on the need for transparency in drug prices and to offer my strong endorsement of this bill. This legislation that we are voting on today represents a serious, bipartisan effort to lift barriers that prevent pharmacists from informing consumers about how much prescription drugs cost. I am proud to be a cosponsor of this legislation.

Every day, Americans buy prescription drugs without a true idea of how much those drugs cost. Pharmacists should be able to tell you if there is a cheaper way to buy prescription drugs, and yet they are unable to do so. Due to so-called gag orders, pharmacists can be prevented from providing this information proactively to patients. With prescription drug costs rising, Americans should have access to transparent pricing information, especially when it can lower their costs.

Today, the Senate takes a significant step toward improving drug price transparency. With the passage of the Patient Right to Know Drug Prices Act, S. 2554, pharmacists would be able to fully inform patients of the cost of the medications they are purchasing. It is ridiculous for a patient to not be told that their copay is actually more than the full cost of the medicine they need. By banning gag clauses, this bill ensures that customers have a right to know the lowest possible price available for a drug at the pharmacy. This is an important first step in advancing drug cost transparency.

In addition to price transparency, the actual cost of medicine continues to be a major issue. Pharmaceutical companies often price drugs as high as they believe the market will allow and have no other constraints on how much they charge. We see this happening not only in branded drugs but in price spikes among generics as well. For example, the recent announcement that major hospital systems and philanthropy organizations have banded together to create their own nonprofit generic drug manufacturing company, Civica Rx, shows just how concerning the problem of reasonably priced drugs, as well as drug shortages, has become. I'll watch with great interest as this endeavor moves forward to produce 14 common drugs used by hospitals--with the first due out next year.

The bill we are voting on today solves just one piece of a very large puzzle, and we must do more. In this distinguished body, we should advance legislation that would direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate drug prices in Medicare. I am a cosponsor of the Choose Medicare Act, which includes this provision. We should also move legislation that provides real financial protection for consumers and limits their monthly copays for prescriptions. I am a cosponsor of the Consumer Health Insurance Protection Act, which includes a copay cap of $250 per month on prescription drugs.

Let's dig in to the real cost of prescription drugs and look for creative solutions that support innovation but ensure that lifesaving drugs can reach patients. A cure doesn't matter if it costs too much to reach those who need it.

The problem of prescription drug costs is real, and it impacts American families across our country. This problem forces seniors to choose between food and medicine. This problem prevents families from being able to care for their loved ones due to the high cost of expensive drugs. In fact, according to a report by the Kaiser Family Foundation, 24 percent of people reported that they or a member of their family either did not fill a prescription, skipped doses, or cut pills in half due to the cost of the drug. And 44 percent of those surveyed said they worried about not being able to afford the medications they needed. This is wrong, and it must be fixed. Today, we start to right that wrong by voting to pass the Patient Right to Know Drug Prices Act. But more is expected and more must be done. Let's build on the bipartisan work that helped us pass the Patient Right to Know Drug Prices Act tonight and make a real difference for American families.

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