Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise to support H.R. 5605, the Advancing High Quality Treatment for Opioid Use Disorders in Medicare Act. I introduced the bill to give older Americans across our Nation more access to comprehensive addiction treatment services through Medicare. Seniors are frequently prescribed opioids to treat chronic illnesses with constant, lasting pain issues, such as arthritis and other issues related to their musculoskeletal system. The frequency and chronicity of this prescribing puts them at risk of developing a dependency, as seniors are more physiologically vulnerable to experiencing dependency and overdose effects. That is because as you get older your physiology changes, which makes seniors less able to deal with the side effects of opioids and more prone to respiratory depression, the leading cause of opioid-related death. When you consider that roughly one-third of Medicare beneficiaries received an opioid prescription in 2016, with over half a million receiving a high dose, it makes sense that the hospitalization rate related to opioid misuse in patients over 65 has increased by 500 percent in the past two decades. Despite these heightened risk factors, many seniors still do not have access to comprehensive, evidence-based treatment under traditional Medicare, and we cannot leave our seniors behind as we work to address this national crisis. Our seniors deserve access to the gold standard of care for treating opioid addiction. It is that simple. My bill, H.R.…”