WASHINGTON— U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Bill Nelson (D-FL), John Thune (R-SD), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) today introduced the Comprehensive Screenings for Seniors Act, bipartisan legislation to ensure health care providers better engage with Medicare patients about pain management and addiction risks. One in three Medicare Part D beneficiaries received a prescription opioid in 2016.
The legislation would ensure doctors, nurse practitioners and other health care providers discuss addiction risks with patients during annual wellness visits, the same way they would discuss diabetes and other health conditions.
This is part of Cassidy’s comprehensive “Safer Families, Healthier Communities” strategy addressing crime and the opioid epidemic in Louisiana and across the country.
“The best way to beat addiction is to prevent it,” said Dr. Cassidy. “As a doctor, I know a strong patient-physician relationship is important to ensure the best care. Reducing the risk of addiction and using alternative methods of pain management are important parts of our ‘do everything’ response to this crisis.”
“Encouraging doctors to have honest conversations with patients about pain management and addiction is critical to combatting the opioid epidemic. Medicare patients deserve to know their risks and have access to all the alternative pain management tools available,” said Brown.
“We are tackling the opioid crisis using a multi-pronged approach to help more Americans get help for their addiction and to prevent addiction in the first place,” said Isakson. “The Comprehensive Screenings for Seniors Act would help doctors to identify patients who may have a predisposition for substance abuse, to better understand the full scope of medications their patients may be using, to identify addiction problems sooner, and to better understand the pain their patients are facing. We need to allow doctors to do what they do best and help their patients manage and overcome pain wherever possible.”
“Enabling doctors to have open conversations with their patients about addiction and pain management is just one more step we can take to combat the opioid crisis. This bill will help identify those who need substance abuse treatment so they get the care they need sooner rather than later,” said Nelson.
“Addiction can affect people of all ages, from all backgrounds, and from communities large and small,” said Thune. “That’s why I’m glad to join this bipartisan effort that would give America’s seniors more information about the options and resources that are available to them if they, too, need help battling addiction.”
“As the opioid crisis ravages communities, no age group has been spared – including our seniors. Our bipartisan legislation would help tackle substance abuse disorders among older Americans by encouraging Medicare providers to engage their patients in honest conversations about pain management, the risks of addiction, and how to access care when it’s needed,” said Blumenthal.
Almost one-third of all Medicare patients—nearly 12 million people—were prescribed opioid painkillers by their physicians in 2015. That same year, 2.7 million Americans over age 50 abused painkillers, meaning they took them for reasons or in amounts beyond what their doctors prescribed. The hospitalization rate due to opioid abuse has quintupled for those 65 and older in the past two decades.
Medicare provides a “Welcome to Medicare” visit for new beneficiaries and annual wellness visits for all recipients. Seniors and individuals with disabilities who rely on Medicare benefits are screened for a variety of possible conditions during those visits – from diabetes to depression.
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