RE: Response to the Opioid Crisis
Dear Chairman Brady, Ranking Member Neal, Chairman Roskam, and Ranking Member Levin:
The Alliance of Specialty Medicine (the “Alliance”) represents more than 100,000 specialty physicians from thirteen
specialty and subspecialty societies. The Alliance is deeply committed to improving access to specialty medical care
through the advancement of sound health policy.
The undersigned members of the Alliance appreciate the opportunity to provide feedback regarding responding to the
opioid crisis. Consider that every day, 46 Americans die as a result of prescription opioid overdose,1 and the rate of
heroin-related overdose deaths has seen a 6.2 fold increase since 2002.2 In addition to these tragic figures, the nation
is seeing an increase in opioid-related pediatric exposures and poisonings. There has been a distressing rise in neonatal
abstinence syndrome (NAS) as a result of women being exposed to opioids during pregnancy. Misuse by older adults
has also become an increasing concern. The rate of opioid-related hospital admissions has increased significantly over
the last two decades across all age cohorts. Because of higher rates of substance use disorders in the current “baby
boomer” cohort, illicit and non-medical drug use among older adults is expected to increase in the future. Physicians
are well positioned to understand the complexities of medical and nonmedical opioid use and to lead change in safe
ways that do not marginalize segments of the population through reactionary policies and actions. While many nonopioid analgesics exist and use of these should be optimized moving forward, physicians must help guide policymakers
regarding the valid and necessary roles for opioids.
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