Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 5774, the Combating Opioid Abuse for Care in Hospitals Act of 2018, or COACH Act. We have learned that, across the continuum of care, screening for opioid abuse disorder and education for patients and providers is necessary to help eradicate this epidemic. This legislation includes efforts to develop quality measures related to the treatment of individuals with opioid use disorder, to improve and publicize guidance on opioid prescribing, and to develop expert recommendations on reducing the use of opioids in the surgical setting. These provisions, championed by Representatives Paulsen, Danny Davis, Higgins, Buchanan, Lamb, and Jason Smith, will help improve education for providers and patients to better ensure prevention and care of individuals with opioid use disorder. The COACH Act also includes H.R. 5699, the Hospital Opioid Solutions Toolkit, which Representative Curbelo introduced with Congresswoman Kuster. The toolkit, to be made available by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, in consultation with relevant stakeholders, will contain resources that hospitals can use to ensure the best practices are being utilized for educating patients and providers about treatment for pain management, including the development of a notification template for hospital staff to better inform patients prescribed opioids of potential risks.…”