SF 151 (LSB 2014XS (2) 87)

SENATE FILE 151

BY  ZAUN

A BILL FOR

An Act requesting the establishment of an interim study committee by the legislative council regarding prescription pain medication.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  EVALUATION OF PRESCRIPTION PAIN MEDICATION CRISIS —— INTERIM STUDY COMMITTEE.
   1.  The legislative council is requested to establish an interim study committee to comprehensively evaluate the state’s response to the national prescription pain medication crisis from both the public health and law enforcement perspectives.
   2.  The committee may receive input from agencies and entities including but not limited to the department of public health, the department of public safety, the board of pharmacy, the department of corrections, the state medical examiner, and representatives of the medical community, community-based corrections, law enforcement agencies, and employers.
   3.  In conducting the evaluation, the committee shall review information including but not limited to all of the following:
   a.  The number of prescriptions for pain medications issued in Iowa and upward and downward trends over a specified period.
   b.  The number of deaths annually attributable to prescription pain medication overdoses and illegal drugs, the accuracy of the underlying reporting system for such deaths, the potential for underreporting of such deaths especially for older individuals for whom a death might be reported as due to natural causes based on the age of the individual, and the need to develop a framework for reporting and disseminating more accurate data.
   c.  The protocols being followed by the medical community to assist those persons addicted to prescription pain medications to reduce reliance on the medications and slowly withdraw, and the roles of pharmacists, prescribers, and others in averting and reporting possible addiction.
   d.  Whether the current scheduling practices for prescription pain medications are helpful or harmful in preventing addiction and criminal activity and whether the state should continue to strictly follow the scheduling practices of the federal government or explore another approach.
   e.  The specific treatment models available for those persons addicted to prescription pain medications, including those available in correctional settings and those utilized for individuals with a medical condition for which a symptom is chronic pain.
   f.  Alternative pain management approaches and the availability, affordability, and effectiveness of such approaches.
   g.  The potential budgetary impact on the correctional system if the misuse of prescription pain medications results in criminal activity.
   h.  The limitations on employment opportunities for and increased health insurance costs to employers due to Iowans with chronic pain issues.
   i.  The capacity of the state to meet the needs of older individuals who have become reliant on pain medications to enhance quality of life.
   4.  The committee shall submit recommendations to the governor and the general assembly by January 1, 2018.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill requests that the legislative council establish an interim study committee to comprehensively evaluate the state’s response to the national prescription pain medication crisis from both the public health and law enforcement perspectives. The bill provides that the committee may receive input from agencies and entities including but not limited to the department of public health, the department of public safety, the board of pharmacy, the department of corrections, the state medical examiner, and representatives of the medical community, community-based corrections, law enforcement agencies, and employers. The bill specifies the types of information the committee is to review in conducting its evaluation and directs the committee to submit recommendations to the governor and the general assembly by January 1, 2018.