Lawmakers are working to combine two separate opioids bills passed by the House and Senate into a final opioids package to send to President Donald Trump's desk, according to STAT.
Here are six things to know:
1. The Senate passed its opioid bill Sept. 17, and the House greenlit its bill June 18.
2. One lobbyist told STAT that lawmakers have drafted up to eight different versions of the opioid legislation over the last few days.
3. On Sept. 24, the two chambers removed a provision that would've loosened restrictions around sharing the medical records of patients with a history of opioid use disorder.
4. The final legislation dropped a measure supported by the pharmaceutical industry that would've reduced drugmakers' responsibility for paying a higher share of Medicare drug costs, according to lobbyists.
5. The CREATES Act, which aims to promote the production of cheaper generic and biosimilar drugs, is also absent from the latest version of the bill.
6. The House and Senate are still discussing several other proposals for potential inclusion in the final bill, including one provision to create a new Department of Justice grant program for opioid funding and another to boost reimbursement for some inpatient mental health treatment providers, according to STAT.
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