Senate HELP Leaders Introduce Opioid Bill

Leaders of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee today introduced bipartisan legislation to address the opioid crisis, which the committee will mark up on April 24. The legislation follows seven committee hearings on the issue, the latest on a discussion draft of the bill. Like the discussion draft, the Opioid Crisis Response Act (S. 2680) would allow the Food and Drug Administration to require drug makers to package certain opioids for a set duration and provide simple and safe opioid disposal options, and provide support to improve state prescription drug monitoring programs. It also would authorize grants to create comprehensive opioid recovery centers, implement state safe care plans for substance-exposed infants, train first responders to administer opioid overdose drugs, and address workforce shortages, among other provisions.