House Concludes Latest Hearing on Opioid Legislation

The House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee today concluded a two-day hearing on more than 30 bills to address the opioid crisis through Medicare and Medicaid coverage and payment policies, which follows a similar hearing last month on 25 other bills. Witnesses at the latest hearing included Michael Botticelli, executive director of the Grayken Center for Addiction at Boston Medical Center, and John Kravitz, chief information officer for Danville, PA-based Geisinger Health System. Botticelli, a former director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy and Massachusetts Bureau of Substance Addiction Services, emphasized the “critical role” that Medicaid plays in addressing the opioid epidemic. Kravitz described how the integrated health system has used electronic prescribing and information technology strategies to reduce opioid prescriptions, drug diversion and the cost of care. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee yesterday held a hearing on a discussion draft of bipartisan legislation to address the opioid crisis, which the committee will mark up on April 24.