Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5723, the Expanding Oversight of Opioid Prescribing and Payment Act of 2018, sponsored by my colleague, Representative Tenney, along with Representatives McKinley and DelBene. H.R. 5723 is the result of work by Members and staff on both sides of the aisle, and I am pleased to have taken part in these important efforts to address the opioid epidemic. This legislation responds to a crucial recommendation from the Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the opioid crisis by directing the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, or MedPAC, to investigate financial incentives for prescribing opioids. These incentives may discourage providers from prescribing evidence-based nonopioid treatments for pain management that can reduce patients' exposure to opioids and slow the epidemic. The report will take a close look at these financial incentives, while also examining the use of data to track and monitor opioid use to more fully understand opioid utilization patterns in Medicare so that we may cultivate better solutions to combat the epidemic itself. MedPAC may also make recommendations to address perverse incentives in Medicare's payment systems that may encourage opioid overprescribing. Mr. Speaker, I encourage all of my colleagues to vote in favor of H.R. 5723, the Expanding Oversight of Opioid Prescribing and Payment Act of 2018.…”