HHS acts on Johnson opioid legislation

Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson's office said Wednesday that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services finalized a rule implementing a key portion of a bill that Johnson co-authored to help curb the opioid epidemic.

The Promoting Responsible Opioid Prescribing (PROP) Act was written to address the issue of overprescription of opioids. The measure includes the provision to prohibit pain management questions on patient surveys from being factored into Medicare reimbursements. That's the part of the legislation that HHS is acting on.

The legislation was introduced in April 2016 by Johnson, U.S. Sen. Joe Machin (D-W.Va.), U.S. Sen. John Barasso (R-Wyo.) and U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.). The bill has not been passed by Congress.

In a statement, Johnson said he "applauded" the move by the Obama administration.

"As we’ve seen in Wisconsin and across the country, the opioid epidemic has affected the lives of many families, including my own," said Johnson, who had a nephew die from an overdose of Fentanyl.

"Physicians must be free to exercise their best judgment when prescribing the proper level of pain medication — that’s what patients and taxpayers expect," Johnson said.