Press Releases

Washington D.C. -- U.S. Representative Ted Budd (R-NC) released the following statement after co-sponsored COACH Act advances to the full House for consideration:

“The opioid epidemic is a national crisis, and because of that, addressing it will continue to be at the top of my priority list. Last week, the House Ways & Means Committee approved several opioid related bills that will now advance to the full House for consideration. One of those was a bipartisan bill that I led with Rep. Curbelo (R-FL), Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-WA), and Rep. Ann Kuster (D-NH) called the Combating Opioid Abuse for Care in Hospitals (COACH) Act.

“The COACH Act includes provisions that aim to ensure medical providers have reliable, evidence-based resources to encourage safer use of prescription opioids, and it also provides more tools to mitigate some of the unnecessary prescribing that has contributed to the growing number of Americans who are victims of this epidemic.

“I’m encouraged that this bill, and many others related to battling this epidemic, advanced last week. I now look forward to this legislation getting to the House floor - the sooner it does, the more tools we’ll have in our toolkit in the long-term fight.”

The COACH Act would:

1. Require the Department of Health and Human Services to develop an evidence-based best practices toolkit for hospitals to reduce opioid misuse.

2. Creates a fast track process for National Quality Forum (NQF) endorsements of new opioid related performance measures and pathways for speedy adoption of these measures by CMS.

3. Instructs HHS to convene a technical expert panel to make recommendations on best practices for pain management and reducing opioid use within hospital and other surgical settings.

4. Directs the Secretary of HHS to make available on the CMS website opioid prescribing guidance applicable to individuals entitled to benefits under Medicare Part A or those enrolled in Part B.