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. 5687, the Securing Opioids and Unused Narcotics with Deliberate Disposal and Packaging Act of 2018, would permit the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to require certain packaging and disposal technologies, controls, or measures to mitigate the risk of abuse and misuse of drugs. Based on information from the FDA, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 5687 would not significantly affect spending over the 2019-2023 period. This bill would also require that the Government Accountability Office study the effectiveness and use of packaging technologies for controlled substances—a provision that CBO estimates would cost less than $500,000.
H.R. 5687 would impose private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA). Because CBO is uncertain how federal agencies would implement new authority granted in the bill, CBO cannot determine whether the costs of those mandates would exceed the UMRA threshold.
H.R. 5687 would permit the Secretary of Health and Human Services to require drug developers and manufacturers to implement new packaging and disposal technology for certain drugs. Based on information from the agency, CBO expects that the Secretary would use the new regulatory authority provided in the bill; however, it is uncertain how or when those requirements would be implemented. Consequently, CBO cannot determine whether the aggregate cost of the mandate would exceed the annual threshold for private entities.
