Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, over the course of the past several months, the Energy and Commerce's Subcommittee on Health held four legislative hearings on bills to address the opioid epidemic and reported 57 bills to the full committee. Of those 57 bills, only one received its own discrete hearing. That bill was H.R. 6082, the Overdose Prevention and Patient Safety Act, introduced by Representatives Mullin and Blumenauer. {time} 1245 As a physician, I believe it is vital that doctors have all of the appropriate information to determine the proper course of treatment for a patient, ensuring patient safety and privacy, as required by Federal regulation known as HIPAA. The Overdose Prevention and Patient Safety Act maintains the original intent of the 1970s statute behind 42 CFR part 2 by protecting patients and improving care coordination. In fact, the bill increases protections for those seeking treatment by more severely penalizing those who illegally share patient data than under the current statute. Current part 2 law does not protect individuals from discrimination based on their treatment records and, to this date, there have been no criminal actions undertaken to enforce part 2. This bill has a wide range of support from national and State organizations. Since the bill was introduced, the Energy and Commerce Committee has heard from over 100 organizations in its support.…”