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House 3M Subcommittee Debates Opioid-Related Legislation
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A subcommittee of the House 3M Committee took up four bills Wednesday morning related to the opioid epidemic in South Carolina. Three bills were debated briefly before the committee adjourned debate, and one bill received a favorable report.
Among those for which debate was adjourned was H.3826 (Huggins) which would require DHEC to develop a counterfeit-resistant prescription blank for practitioners to use when prescribing controlled substances. Dr. Ridgeway, who sits on the subcommittee, voiced some concerns with the current language of the bill because most providers are already required to use such prescription blanks by federal law if they accept Medicaid or Medicare. He also noted that the legislation does not make any mention of e-prescribing, which is becoming a common practice and is very hard to fake. Dr. Ridgeway spoke to the bills sponsor about making changes and moved to adjourn debate until an amendment could be created to address the concerns.
Another bill by Representative Huggins, H.4600, would allow community organizations to distribute opioid antidotes to a person experiencing an opioid-related overdose. A representative from DAODAS spoke in favor of the measure, noting the high incidence of opioid-related deaths and their growth in the last year. Members of the committee asked several questions related to efforts to combat overdoses and epidemics of other drugs before moving to adjourn debate until more information is available.
H.4117, a bill by Representative Henderson, would allow drugs courts to have access to the information stored in the prescription drug monitoring program. Some of the subcommittee members were unsure if the bill would violate the HIPAA law, and adjourned debate until they could get more information related to the privacy of patient data.
The lone bill to move out of the subcommittee was H.4112 (Henderson). This bill directs DHEC to create an advanced directive form for patients to voluntarily complete to indicate their wishes not to receive opioids. The form would be available on the DHEC website and patients could fill it out as they choose. After little debate, the bill received a favorable report.
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Senate Medical Affairs Subcommittee Approves Infant Safe Sleep Measure
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S.891 (Shealy) would require hospitals and other birth centers and providers to provide a safe sleep educational video as part of the information shared with new parents. It was approved Thursday by a subcommittee of the Senate Medical Affairs Committee.
A representative from SCHA noted that DHEC and hospitals are already working on adding safe sleep and sudden unexpected infant death syndrome (SUIDS) to the shaken baby video currently provided. A DHEC representative confirmed the video edits and stated that it may take up to six months for the department to complete the video and make it available to hospitals. The subcommittee adopted an amendment to the bill extending the effective date of the legislation by six months to allow time to complete the video.
The SC Birth Outcomes Initiative added safe infant sleep to its priorities in the last year and is making available many resources for hospitals to provide to new parents on the topic, including a tri-fold brochure with the ABC's of safe sleep - Alone, on their Back, and in a Crib. A representative from the group mentioned that SUIDS is the 3rd leading cause of infant death, resulting in 80 infant deaths in one year. The committee appreciated the work being done on this front to save infant lives.
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In Other News
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- The House Ways and Means Committee approved its version of the 2018-2019 state budget this week, and healthcare fared well in a tight budget year. Chairman of the Health and Human Services subcommittee Murrell Smith recommended adopting an opioid abuse prevention proviso and $4.35 million to go with it to fight the opioid crisis. The committee also approved $4 million through the University of South Carolina School of Medicine for a Rural Health Initiative. As has been discussed in previous years, autism service providers received a rate increase in this budget which is needed to recruit and retain qualified providers. Proposed healthcare provisos amended and adopted this week can be found here.
- SCHA and other healthcare provider associations are working on legislation to increase penalties for violence against healthcare workers and violence on healthcare facility grounds. Be on the lookout for an action alert asking you to contact your senator on the issue as soon as next week!
- A bill to allow APRNs and PAs to practice telemedicine in South Carolina received a favorable report from the full 3M Committee Tuesday, moving forward to the House floor where it received 2nd and 3rd readings this week as well. The bill has been a priority for SCHA since the issue of APRNs practicing telemedicine came into question last year.
- House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Brian White noted during the full committee meeting Wednesday afternoon the importance of healthcare spending in South Carolina and that is where the money is in the budget this year. He mentioned that we continue to see spending in this area grow even as the state budget is tight, and it is because the healthcare field is facing crises and all citizens in the state can benefit when it is funded. He also noted that many of the healthcare agencies cannot raise tuition, fees, or use other measures to get the money needed, so the state provides. We appreciate the affirming words from Chairman White and are glad to see the efforts of hospitals and healthcare providers funded by our state leaders.
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Chamber Action
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- H.3819 (Bedingfield) - establishes requirements for prescribing opioid analgesics to minors - received 3rd reading, sent to Senate
- H.3820 (Fry) - requires education related to prescription drug abuse prevention in grades nine through twelve in public schools in South Carolina - received 3rd reading in the House, sent to the Senate
- H.4116 (Ridgeway) - provides that a physician does not need to secure a Maintenance of Certification as a condition of licensure, reimbursement, employment, or admitting privileges at a hospital in South Carolina - received 3rd reading in House, sent to Senate
- H.4492 (Spires) - changes dosage limitations for certain prescribed controlled substances - received 2nd reading in the House
- H.4529 (G.M. Smith) - allows APRNs and PAs to practice via telemedicine - received 3rd reading in the House, sent to Senate
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Committee Action
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- S.217 (Bryant) - extends due process rights to all fertilized human eggs - favorable as amended, Senate Judiciary Committee
- H.4116 (Ridgeway) - provides that a physician does not need to secure a Maintenance of Certification as a condition of licensure, reimbursement, employment, or admitting privileges at a hospital in South Carolina - favorable, House 3M Committee
- H.4529 (G.M. Smith) - allows APRNs and PAs to practice via telemedicine - favorable, House 3M Committee
- H.3826 (Huggins) - requires DHEC to develop a counterfeit-resistant prescription blank for practitioners to use when prescribing controlled substance - adjourned debate, House 3M Subcommittee
- H.4112 (Bedingfield) - requires DHEC to develop a directive form to allow individuals to refuse the administering or prescription of controlled substances - favorable, House 3M Subcommittee
- H.4117 (Henderson) - adds drug courts to the exceptions for who may receive information from the prescription monitoring program - adjourned debate, House 3M Subcommittee
- H.4600 (Huggins) - authorizes certain community organizations to distribute opioid antidotes to a person experiencing an opioid-related overdose - adjourned debate, House 3M Subcommittee
- S.891 (Shealy) - requires hospitals to include safe sleep practices and the causes of sudden infant death syndrome in information distributed to parents after birth - favorable as amended, Senate Medical Affairs Subcommittee
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Intros of Interest
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- H.4958 (Ridgeway) - allows pharmacists to dispense a varying quantity of maintenance medication - referred to House 3M Committee
- S.1026 (Timmons) - calls for Greenville Health System to engage in a competitive bidding process for the sale of public assets of the system - placed on local uncontested calendar
- S.1046 (M.B. Matthews) - limits prescriptions for Schedule II and Schedule II controlled substances to seven days for an initial supply and four days for subsequent refills for the same treatment - referred to Senate Medical Affairs
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February 23, 2018
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