Becker's Hospital Review

76 CMO / CARE DELIVERY Congress 'too scared to take on the AMA' in fighting opioid crisis, senator says By Megan Knowles A s legislators search for ways to curb the opioid crisis, advocates for further restricting the drugs claim the American Medical Associ- ation is lobbying against several CDC recommendations and that members of Congress are afraid to take on the group, e Daily Beast reported. Five things to know: 1. A number of the CDC recommendations were included in the Compre- hensive Addiction & Recovery Act 2.0 bill, introduced by Sen. Rob Port- man, R-Ohio, and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., in February. Mr. Portman's office confirmed that lobbyists from the AMA said they would not support provisions included in the CARA 2.0 bill limiting opi- oid prescriptions to three-day supplies, or the requirement that physicians take education courses on drugs and addiction. 2. is opposition from the AMA has drawn heated criticism. In a meeting of advocates for curbing opioid abuse the week of May 20, Sen. Joe Man- chin, D-W.Va., discussed the lack of progress on certain proposals, saying some of his colleagues were "too scared to take on the AMA," according to e Daily Beast. 3. Gary Mendell, CEO of Shatterproof — a nonprofit aimed at eliminating the harmful effects of addiction on families — said congressional staff told him "the AMA will resist anything that regulates healthcare" on several issues. e AMA also pushed against federal grant money requiring pre- scribers to check Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs before prescrib- ing certain controlled substances and sharing that information with other states, Mr. Mendell said. "e AMA doesn't dispute that doctors should check the Prescription Drug Monitor Program, but they resist a law that requires them to do that," Mr. Mendell said. "I'm not about regulating healthcare. I don't care if it's reg- ulated or not. I just care that they are safely taken care of. If doctors were doing it on their own, then we wouldn't be having this conversation." 4. e CDC issued recommendations for opioid prescriptions in March 2016, including that physicians give the lowest possible and limit the pre- scription to three days or less for acute pain. "More than seven days will rarely be needed," the CDC stated. 5. e AMA said the CDC issued only recommendations and that its "ef- forts to codify a strict limit on prescribing opioids are inconsistent with both the language and spirit of the guidelines." "A strict three-day limit ignores the admonition from the CDC guideline that 'Clinical decision-making should be based on a relationship between the cli- nician and patient, and an understanding of the patient's clinical situation, functioning, and life context,' misstates the actual recommendation of the CDC, and applies limits to clinical situations to which they were not intended to be applied," the AMA said in a statement obtained by e Daily Beast. "Limits and one-size-fits-all approaches will not end this epidemic," the AMA statement continues. "e AMA has urged Congress, statehouses, and payers to cover evidence-based treatment that works. Most patients with opioid-use disorder have trouble accessing care as payers, and others put up obstacles." n Kaiser to invest $200M in community efforts to reduce homelessness By Megan Knowles O akland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente is com- mitting up to $200 million to address housing stability, homelessness and other community needs, the health system announced May 18. Through the investment, Kaiser will initially aim to pre- vent homelessness for lower- and middle-income resi- dents, reduce homelessness by ensuring access to sup- portive housing and make affordable homes healthier. "Affordable housing will be a significant focus of Kai- ser Permanente's impact investing portfolio to gener- ate housing stability and improve health outcomes," said Bernard J. Tyson, Kaiser Permanente's chair- man and CEO. "We hope our commitment creates a broader national conversation on homelessness, and encourages other companies to join with us to advance economic, social and environmental condi- tions for health." The healthcare giant plans to share more details on its investments in U.S. communities in June. n 200+ HOSPITAL AND HEALTH SYSTEM EXECUTIVES SPEAKING OVER 255 SPEAKERS TOTAL HEALTH IT + REVENUE CYCLE 2018 SEPTEMBER 19-22, 2018 HYATT REGENCY | CHICAGO, ILLINOIS CELEBRITY KEYNOTES: Peyton Manning, NFL Legend and Venus Williams, Tennis Champion KEYNOTE DEBATE: Rudy Giuliani, 107th Mayor of New York City and Partner, Giuliani Partners vs. Howard Dean, MD, Former Chairman of the Democratic National Committee and Governor of Vermont REGISTER HERE www.beckershospitalreview.com/health-it-revenue-cycle-conference registration@beckershealthcare.com, jcole@beckershealthcare.com, sbecker@beckershealthcare.com | or 800.417.2035

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