On May 9 and May 17, 2018, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce ordered 59 bills to be reported related to the nation’s response to the opioid epidemic. Because of the large number of related bills ordered reported by the Committee, CBO is publishing a single comprehensive document that includes estimates for each piece of legislation.
H.R. 5176, the Preventing Overdoses While in Emergency Rooms Act of 2018, would require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop protocols and a grant program for health care providers to address the needs of people who survive a drug overdose, and it would authorize $50 million in 2019 for that purpose. Based on historical spending patterns for similar activities, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 5176 would cost $50 million over the 2019-2023 period.
