On Wednesday, February 1, the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee held a legislative hearing titled, “Lives Worth Living: Addressing the Fentanyl Crisis, Protecting Critical Lifelines, and Combatting Discrimination Against Those with Disabilities.” Two witness panels were called to testify at the hearing. The first included officials from the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). The second panel had witnesses from the National Down Syndrome Society, Families USA, Cedar Recovery, a parent advocate, and an emergency medicine physician. The hearing examined several pieces of legislation: the Halt all Lethal Trafficking (HALT) of Fentanyl Act (H.R. 467), the Block, Reporting, and Suspend Suspicious Shipments Act (H.R. 501), the 9-8-8 Lifeline Cybersecurity Act (H.R. 498), and the Protecting Health Care for All Patients Act (H.R. 485).

The HALT Fentanyl Act would permanently classify fentanyl-related substances (FRS) as Schedule 1 Controlled Substances. FRS are currently temporarily scheduled as Class 1 Controlled Substances, and supporters of permanent scheduling say it would provide law enforcement agencies with the tools to pursue fentanyl traffickers. Subcommittee Chairman Brett Guthre (R-KY) said that permanently scheduling FRS is his top priority in the subcommittee. Subcommittee Ranking Member Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone (D-NJ) opposed the HALT Fentanyl Act, arguing that a broader public health approach is needed to address the fentanyl crisis as opposed to solely focusing on law enforcement. Other opponents of permanent scheduling have also expressed concern that it would halt any possibility of determining medicinal uses for FRS in opioid addiction management and overdose. During the hearing, many committee members reinforced their desire to address social determinants of health and mental health concerns that contribute to the opioid overdose epidemic.

The 9-8-8 Lifeline Cybersecurity Act received bipartisan support from the subcommittee and would require the Department of Health and Human Services to coordinate internally to protect the suicide prevention lifeline from cybersecurity attacks. The Protecting Health Care for All Patients Act earned conflicting attention, as there was agreement that using Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALYs) to decide if patients should receive treatment is discriminatory against those with disabilities but concerns from some that eliminating drug value measurements could block policies to lower drug prices. Specifically, both Ranking Member Pallone and Frederick Isasi of Families USA speculated that banning the use of QALYs and “similar measures” in federal insurance programs could prohibit drug negotiation provisions implemented in the Inflation Reduction Act.