“The abuse of prescription drugs and heroin is happening everywhere in America – it is harming our nation. Congress must do what we can to stop it.”
WASHINGTON, D.C.— Today, U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor highlighting the bipartisan concern in Congress about opioid abuse.
Transcript of Senator Barrasso’s remarks:
“I come to the floor today to talk about a drug abuse problem that is hurting millions – literally millions – of Americans.
“There has been a dramatic rise in the use and misuse of prescription painkillers in this country. Now, these prescription painkillers, I can tell you this as a doctor, are known as opioids.
“Between 1999 and 2013, sales of prescription painkillers in the United States have quadrupled.
“So, it’s no coincidence that over that same number of years, overdose deaths from these drugs have also quadrupled.
“This is how we know there has been a huge shift from the appropriate use to abuse of these medications.
“People in rural areas like my own are almost twice as likely to overdose on prescription painkillers as people in large cities.
“Some people think that drugs are only a problem in the big cities – that’s not the case with these opioids.
“I can tell you as a doctor who practiced medicine in Casper, Wyoming, for 25 years; treating pain in our patients is one of the most difficult things that we do.
“When we have a patient who we know is in pain, we want to help – we want to help relieve that pain.
“Opioids are a very effective way to at help patients with pain, and doctors use these medications through prescriptions to help manage the pain. It’s important that we have the capacity to do that as long as it’s done appropriately.
“Now, this can be a very good option for someone who is suffering from chronic pain, such as pain from cancer.
“It can be appropriate for someone who is suffering from acute pain, temporary pain, for someone who’s just had surgery.
“The problem is these are extremely powerful narcotics.
“Chemically, they’re not that different from heroin – and they can become addictive.
“Some patients have no problems at all taking these painkillers for the proper amount of time; other patients might develop a problem and might actually have trouble getting off the pain pills.
“Now, as they get accustomed to the drugs, sometimes they may seek out stronger and then more addictive drugs to get the same pain relief.
“That’s why doctors have to be very careful about prescribing the right medicine for each patient and each situation.
“They have to balance the risk of the drugs with the reward of easing that patient’s pain.
“Not every doctor in this country has been as careful as they should be.
“We didn’t get into this difficult situation because of a handful of doctors writing too many prescriptions.
“These prescriptions are being written by doctors in communities all across the country.
“It’s happening in emergency rooms, it’s happening with family doctors, with specialists, and even with dentists.
“Now, I believe Washington policies have inadvertently contributed to the problem.
“The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services make payments to hospitals based partly on how well the specific hospital has scored on surveys filled out by their patients – the patients that have been in those hospitals.
“Some of the questions on those surveys ask people things like – and I’ll just read a couple to you: ‘During this hospital stay, how often was your pain well-controlled?’ So patients are asked that. And, they’re also asked: ‘How often did the hospital staff do everything they could to help you with your pain?’
“You can see how doctors might feel pressure to prescribe more and stronger opioid pain relievers to make sure their hospital doesn’t get lower scores and get penalized by the bureaucrats here in Washington.
“The Department of Health and Human Services is looking into whether these surveys are contributing to this rise in prescriptions, and what can be done about it.
“Earlier this month, I was one of 26 Senators, 26 members of this body – Republicans and Democrats – to write to the secretary of Health and Human Services to make sure that she keeps us apprised on the effect these regulations might be having.
“If these pain relievers are being prescribed inappropriately, they can do more harm than good – that’s the problem. Some of these people who do get these prescriptions, for all the right reasons, end up being addicted.
“When the prescription runs out, they may actually experience withdrawal symptoms, and I’ve seen it happen.
“So we know that some of the people who become addicted to these opioids then, what do they do? They seek pills on the black market or they turn to other drugs, including heroin.
“Heroin is actually cheaper than prescription opioids and, of course, more deadly.
“From 2002 to 2013, heroin use in the United States has nearly doubled – and the deaths from heroin overdoses have quadrupled.
“Why? Well, one of the reasons seems to be because heroin has gotten much cheaper on the street, it’s also become a more attractive drug for addicts to buy and to use.
“At the same time, the heroin today is believed to be much more powerful than it used to be – and so it may be that the people who use it are much more likely to overdose.
“When we see statistics like these, or just talk to people who work in emergency rooms and deal with the drug addictions and the 911 calls – on opioid abuse and heroin abuse – and we see these problems, I think it is time for Congress to act.
“We cannot turn a blind eye to Americans who are suffering and who are dying.
“That’s why I think it’s important that the Senate has to be taking up action to help stop the damage being done.
“Recently, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, bipartisan support – and it is one more sign that the Senate has gotten back to work on behalf of the American people.
“Just like the name of the legislation says, I actually addresses both problems – addiction and recovery.
“It’s going to increase education and prevention efforts, to help keep people from becoming addicted to painkillers in the first place.
“It’s also going to strengthen state programs to monitor prescription drugs, and to track when these drugs end up in the wrong hands.
“For the people who’ve already passed from use of the medications to abuse and addiction, this legislation would help to launch treatment programs that are based on actual evidence of what works.
“There are a lot of treatment programs out there. Lots of different opportunities to seek treatment.
“We want to make sure that we can identify the ones that are actually succeeding and helping people – and then make sure that these programs are available to more people.
“These are just a few of the positive ideas in this legislation.
“Senator Ayotte, who is one of the main sponsors of this legislation, has said that we cannot arrest our way out of this problem.
“She’s exactly right.
“The misuse and the abuse of these drugs is illegal. We must acknowledge that fact.
“We must still try to do everything in our power to keep that misuse from turning into addiction and even death.
“There are states, and communities, and families suffering because of the abuse of these drugs.
We can all be part of the solution. And we must be part of the solution.
“I know that the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions is looking into another aspect of this subject. So is the Finance Committee. There are a lot of ideas out there.
“I’m glad to see members taking this issue so seriously, and I’m glad that we are moving forward with bipartisan legislation and solutions.
“Senator Ayotte has been a major force in talking about this problem, and so have Senators Whitehouse, Kirk, Portman and others.
“Another good idea is common sense in changing Medicare Part D and Medicare Advantage.
“This piece of legislation has been introduced by Senator Toomey of Pennsylvania. I’m a co-sponsor.
“The bill is called the Stopping Medication Abuse and Protecting Seniors Act. That’s it – Stopping Medication Abuse and Protecting Seniors.
“It allows Part D and Medicare Advantage plans to ‘lock in’ patients to a single prescriber, a single pharmacy for their opioid pain medicine.
“This would deal with the issue of ‘doctor shopping.’
“That’s when a patient goes to multiple providers to get duplicate prescriptions if they become addicted.
“Many private insurance companies already do this. So does Medicaid.
“So, we should allow and encourage Medicare plans to do it as well.
“These are all ideas with bipartisan support in the Senate.
“They are examples of ways that Democrats and Republicans are working together to help Americans who need help – who deserve help.
“The abuse of prescription drugs and heroin is happening everywhere in America – it is harming our nation.
“Congress must do what we can to stop it.”
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