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. 5804, the Post-Surgical Injections as an Opioid Alternative Act, would freeze the Medicare payment rate for certain analgesic injections provided in ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs). (For injections identified by specific billing codes, Medicare would pay the 2016 rate, which is higher than the current rate, during the 2020-2024 period.) Based on current utilization in the ASC setting, CBO estimates that enacting the legislation would increase direct spending by about $115 million over the 2019-2028 period. (If enacted, H.R. 5804 also would affect spending subject to appropriation.)
H.R. 5804 would freeze the Medicare payment rate for certain analgesic injections provided in ambulatory surgical centers. The bill also would mandate two studies of Medicare coding and payments arising from enactment of this legislation. Based on the cost of similar activities, CBO estimates that those reports would cost $1 million over the 2019-2023 period. (If enacted, H.R. 5804 also would affect mandatory spending.)
