WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Thursday passed a bipartisan bill introduced by Sens. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and Tim Kaine, D-Va., to help address the prescription opioid and heroin abuse epidemic in America.
The Co-Prescribing Saves Lives Act encourages physicians to co-prescribe the lifesaving drug naloxone alongside opioid prescriptions and make naloxone more widely available in federal health settings. The bill can now head to the Senate floor for a vote.
"We must act swiftly in order to save lives and stem the growing drug epidemic in America. The Co-Prescribing Saves Lives Act is an important step toward preventing overdose deaths, and I am pleased this important legislation will advance to the Senate floor for a vote. I will continue working with Senator Kaine and my colleagues in the Senate to fight the devastating drug crisis," Capito said.
The Co-Prescribing Saves Lives Act, as amended, would require the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Secretary of Defense and Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish physician co-prescribing best practices for federal health settings, including Veterans Administration hospitals, Department of Defense hospitals, Indian Health Service facilities and federally qualified health centers.
Nationwide, heroin and opioids account for approximately 25,000 American deaths a year. Naloxone reversed more than 26,000 overdose cases between 1996 and 2014.