Description:
On May 9 and May 17, 2018, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce ordered 59 bills to be reported related to the nation’s response to the opioid epidemic. Because of the large number of related bills ordered reported by the Committee, CBO is publishing a single comprehensive document that includes estimates for each piece of legislation.
H.R. 5799, the Medicaid DRUG Improvement Act, would require state Medicaid programs to implement additional reviews of opioid prescriptions, monitor concurrent prescribing of opioids and certain other drugs, and monitor use of antipsychotic drugs by children. CBO estimates that the bill would increase direct spending by $5 million over the 2019-2028 period to cover the administrative costs of complying with those requirements. On the basis of stakeholder feedback, CBO expects that the bill would not have a significant effect on Medicaid spending for prescription drugs because many of the bill’s requirements would duplicate current efforts to curb opioid and antipsychotic drug use. (If enacted, H.R. 5799 also would affect spending subject to appropriation; CBO has not completed an estimate of that amount.)
H.R. 5799 would increase authorization levels, but CBO has not completed estimates of amounts. All authorizations would be subject to future appropriation action.
