HNF recently joined more than 30 patient advocacy organizations and health care professional societies in signing a letter to members of Congress regarding the Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act. That legislation passed both the House and Senate unanimously and was signed into law on April 19, 2016. The coalition is advocating to maintain the law in its current form and opposes any repeal.

The concern driving the letter: thousands of people with pain conditions had been unable to obtain necessary prescription medications following arbitrary closures of controlled-substance distributors by the DEA. This bipartisan bill, sponsored by Senator Orrin Hatch among others, was written to protect the pain community. Senator Hatch also helped ensure that the 2011 Institute of Medicine pain report and the Interagency Pain Research Coordinating Committee were incorporated into the ACA, and he has been a leading voice for advancing the National Pain Strategy. The letter supports the efforts of Senators Hatch and Whitehouse to ensure patients do not lose sudden access to pain medications, as had been occurring in prior years.

The advocacy push came in response to a CBS “60 Minutes” segment that aired on October 15, 2017. In that segment, Joe Rannazzisi, a former DEA assistant administrator who now consults for lawyers suing the opioid industry, accused the bill’s sponsors and Congress of yielding to industry lobbying and limiting the DEA’s ability to shut down rogue distributors. The coalition disputes that characterization. Following the broadcast, no fewer than five legislative bills were introduced to repeal the law.

The law itself was drafted by Obama Administration officials at the Justice Department and the DEA, and both agencies supported the final bill. It requires the DEA to: (1) inform registrants that they are under investigation and describe the suspected violations, and (2) allow 30 days to correct the situation. The law also authorizes the DEA to bypass that notification and immediately suspend a distributor’s registration when there is substantial likelihood of death, bodily harm, or abuse of controlled substances.

Because a single distributor may supply scores of pharmacies (each serving hundreds of patients), abrupt closures can create widespread prescription shortages that cut people with serious chronic conditions off from their treatments without warning.

The signers of this letter want distribution centers that have engaged in illegal activities to be held accountable, including closure where there is imminent public danger. They do not believe this fair and balanced law should be repealed, as doing so could encourage the DEA to resume unannounced distributor shutdowns and recreate the pharmacy shortages that harmed patients.

HNF proudly stands with the chronic pain community in protecting access to therapies and treatments that help manage the debilitating effects pain has on quality of life. We will continue to monitor this situation on behalf of our patients and advise you of future advocacy efforts where patient voices are needed.