Washington, D.C. – Congressman Jim Renacci (OH-16) applauds the unanimous passage of the Strengthening Partnerships to Prevent Opioid Abuse Act in the House.

Renacci authored this bipartisan legislation to improve the coordination between the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and plan sponsors of Medicare Advantage and Part D prescription drug plans to combat fraud, waste, and abuse and the overprescribing of opioids within the Medicare Part D Program.

“Over half a million Medicare beneficiaries were written prescriptions for excessive amounts of opioids in 2016, and 90,000 beneficiaries are at serious risk of opioid misuse or overdose,” said Renacci. “The Strengthening Partnerships to Prevent Opioid Abuse Act will facilitate greater and more meaningful collaboration between CMS and industry stakeholders to identify instances in which a provider is overprescribing opioids or is engaging in fraud and abuse and endangering the well-being of America’s seniors.”

Under current law and regulations, CMS has tasked plan sponsors with identifying and taking corrective action against providers engaging in fraud and abuse within the Part D program. While plan sponsors are encouraged to refer cases of fraud and abuse to CMS, they are not required. This inhibits CMS’s ability to track its progress in reducing inappropriate prescribing, drug diversion, and opioid use disorders – all of which are goals of its Opioid Misuse Strategy.

Building on recommendations from the Government Accountability Office and the Office of Inspector General at the Department of Health and Human Services, the Strengthening Partnerships to Prevent Opioid Abuse Act would create an online portal through which plan sponsors would be required to report opioid overprescribing and would refer substantiated case of fraud and abuse to CMS. Using this portal, CMS would also be required to inform plans of its corrective actions regarding providers who have engaged in fraud and abuse, facilitate the sharing of referral information between plans, and inform plans of the resolution of their referrals.