PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Mar 23, 2016
Co-Prescribing Saves Lives Act of 2016
This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and the Department of Defense (DOD) to: (1) establish training guidelines for federal health care facilities and federally qualified health centers; and (2) train certain health care providers at federal health care facilities on best practices for prescribing pain medications, principles of pain management, the misuse potential of controlled substances, identification of potential substance use disorders and referral to further evaluation and treatment, and disposal of controlled substances.
HHS, the VA, and DOD must establish, for certain health care facilities, guidelines for the prescription of naloxone to individuals at an elevated risk of overdose. (Naloxone is a prescription drug used to rapidly reverse an overdose of opioids, which are drugs with effects similar to opium, such as heroin and certain pain medications.)
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
HHS must award grants to state departments of health for the development and application of guidelines for the prescription of opioid overdose reversal drugs and to increase access to naloxone. Grants may be used to:
establish a program for purchasing, prescribing, and distributing opioid overdose reversal drugs;
expand innovative models of naloxone distribution;
train and provide resources to health care providers and pharmacists on prescribing opioid overdose reversal drugs;
offset individuals' cost-sharing for opioid overdose reversal drugs;
conduct community outreach to raise awareness of the availability of opioid overdose reversal drugs; and
establish protocols to connect patients who have experienced a drug overdose with treatment.
People & committees
Rep. Rothfus, Keith J. [R-PA-12] · R–PA
Legislative record
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Referred to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Armed Services, Veterans' Affairs, and Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Armed Services, Veterans' Affairs, and Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Armed Services, Veterans' Affairs, and Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Armed Services, Veterans' Affairs, and Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Armed Services, Veterans' Affairs, and Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
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Source last updated: Dec 3, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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