WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), Co-Chair of the Senate Rural Health Caucus, introduced and cosponsored bipartisan legislation to help combat the opioid crisis. These bills improve access to medications that treat opioid use disorders for Medicare Part D patients and improve access to addiction treatment for rural patients through telemedicine.

S. 2908, the Electronic Prior Authorization in Medicare Part D Act, would provide for Electronic Prior Authorization (ePA) to be used in Medicare Part D. Prior authorization, a request for additional information about whether the patient needs or meets clinical criteria for a medicine to be covered, is currently completed through paper forms, faxes and telephone calls. The use of ePA through a common electronic system will improve the program and lower costs.

“Switching to an electronic system will help people get access to the prescriptions already prescribed to them by their doctors. By streamlining the process, we can help ensure that Medicare patients who are trying to fill prescriptions for opioid use disorders encounter less hurdles to get the medicine they need to help stop this serious addiction,” said Roberts.

According to a MedPAC presentation in 2017, more than 81 million prescriptions for Medicare beneficiaries were rejected at the pharmacy counter in 2015.

This week, Senator Roberts also introduced S. 2910, the Telehealth for Children’s Access to Services and Treatment Act or the TeleCAST Act, which would identify best practices and ways to overcome barriers to offer school-based telehealth services. This legislation would help children living in rural communities who often don’t have access to treatment options.

Sen. Roberts also cosponsored S. 2904, the Medicaid Substance Use Disorder Treatment via Telehealth Act, which would require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide guidance to states regarding federal reimbursements for treating substance use disorders using telemedicine for Medicaid patients. This would not make telehealth mandatory, but would provide guidance for states interested in providing telehealth services.

“Expanding treatment options for our rural communities will help combat the growing problems with opiates and substance abuse in rural areas. Currently, many Kansans have to travel long distances, or even across state lines to access substance abuse treatment. This is unacceptable. People living in rural areas who want to get help fighting an addiction should be able to easily access the treatment programs they need. Offering these programs through telemedicine will help solve this problem,” Roberts said.

Community mental health and addiction treatment facilities in rural areas often do not house a full-time clinician who can prescribe controlled substances, such as methadone and Suboxone, for the treatment of substance use disorders. Many rural patients need to travel long distances, sometimes across state lines, to access the needed treatments. The distance can also be a burden on providers, who may spend hours traveling to treat one rural patient.

Senator Roberts is a member of the Senate Finance Committee which has jurisdiction over Medicare and Medicaid, is a member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions and is Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry.

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