Establishing Pain Management Best Practices Inter-Agency Task Force

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. KEATING. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of Mr. Rothfus' amendment to H.R. 4641.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. KEATING. Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank my colleague from Pennsylvania (Mr. Rothfus).

I rise today in support of this amendment, our amendment. It is an amendment that I believe will move the task force to consider the practice of coprescribing of overdose reversal drugs such as naloxone as part of the review of its best practices for pain management and for prescribing pain medication.

Importantly, the medical community now realizes the need for having these important guidelines in place and having them being addressed, as over 80 percent of the AMA members have indicated they see the need for these guidelines now and the importance in terms of saving lives.

As a former district attorney, I took a public health approach a decade and a half ago, starting an Anti-Heroin Task Force. At the time, in our State, two people, on average, were dying every day from these overdoses. In just the last 6 years, that number has increased to almost four people a day.

As a Congressman, this hits really close to home to me because our latest stats in 2014 indicate that a quarter of the overdose deaths in Massachusetts occurred in counties in my district. Over 60 percent occurred in the cities of Fall River and New Bedford alone.

In fact, nearly twice the statewide average in Cape Cod, where the highest percentage of per capita rate of opioid-related overdoses occurs, represents a significant part of the epidemic in our Commonwealth.

Going forward, Mr. Rothfus and I introduced Co-Prescribing Saves Lives Act legislation to require Federal health agencies, including HHS, the Department of Defense, and the VA, to create guidelines for coprescribing naloxone alongside opioid prescriptions and making naloxone more widely available.

Our legislation creates a grant program as well, so the States will have the resources to do the same.

As our partnership shows, in an often divided Congress, we are coming together. We are coming together to confront a uniquely American epidemic.

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source