ACS CAN President Chris Hansen
+ Regulatory
Jamie Barrand | Mar 20, 2016

ACS CAN officials laud passage of opioid legislation

Lawmakers of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee recently produced two pieces of legislation aimed at stemming the misuse and abuse of opioid-based pain medicines.

This move was lauded by officials from the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN).

“ACS CAN applauds the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee for moving both bills forward, and identifying balanced pain management solutions to ensure all patients suffering from chronic pain have access to necessary medications,” Chris Hansen, ACS CAN president, said. “These important programs ensure health care providers have the tools they need to treat and assist patients with legitimate needs for prescription pain medications.”

The two bills -- the National All Schedules Prescription Electronic Reporting (NASPER) Reauthorization Act of 2015 and the Schatz-Hatch amendment included in the Mental Health Reform Act of 2016 -- address prescription opioid abuse while protecting access to such medications for patients who are using them appropriately.

The NASPER Act provides funding for state-run prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs). Under the terms of the act, states would be permitted to use grant funding to enhance PDMPs and make them more effective.

The Schatz-Hatch amendment provides for increased research by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on the causes of pain and the development of alternatives to opioids for pain therapy.

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