§294i–1 Emergency Department Alternatives to Opioids Program

Summary

The Secretary of Health and Human Services must run a grant program that gives money to hospitals and emergency departments, including freestanding emergency departments, so they can create, improve, study, or use ways to treat pain without opioids. Hospitals must apply to get a grant. The Secretary must try to spread grants across different locations. Grant money can be used to focus on common painful conditions, train staff on when to use or avoid opioids and how to use alternatives, and set up or keep going non-opioid pain strategies. The Secretary may also run a similar demo program for other acute care sites. Recipients must share what works and get offered technical help. The help will promote best practices, use lessons from successful hospitals, include non-addictive medicines and non-drug treatments, help spot patients at risk for opioid problems, and reach groups like older adults, pregnant women, and children, as well as many types of care sites. Each grantee must send yearly progress reports while funded. Reports must describe the programs and patient demographics, show data on alternative strategies and the number of opioid prescriptions before and during the program, show how many patients later got opioids after alternatives, and any other needed information. By the end of fiscal years 2024 and 2027, the Secretary must report results to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, including how many applications were received and funded, a summary that allows comparisons, and recommendations for wider use. Up to $10,000,000 is authorized each year for fiscal years 2023 through 2027.