STUDY ON ABUSE-DETERRENT OPIOID FORMULATIONS ACCESS BARRIERS UNDER MEDICARE.

SEC. 6012. STUDY ON ABUSE-DETERRENT OPIOID FORMULATIONS ACCESS BARRIERS UNDER MEDICARE. (a) In General.—Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall conduct a study and submit to Congress a report on— (1) the adequacy of access to abuse-deterrent opioid formulations for individuals with chronic pain enrolled in an MA-PD plan under part C of title XVIII of the Social Security Act or a prescription drug plan under part D of such title of such Act, taking into account any barriers preventing such individuals from accessing such formulations under such MA-PD or part D plans, such as cost-sharing tiers, fail-first requirements, the price of such formulations, and prior authorization requirements; and (2) the effectiveness of abuse-deterrent opioid formulations in preventing opioid abuse or misuse; the impact of the use of abuse-deterrent opioid formulations on the use or abuse of other prescription or illicit opioids (including changes in deaths from such opioids); and other public health consequences of the use of abuse-deterrent opioid formulations, such as an increase in rates of human immunodeficiency virus. (b) Definition of Abuse-Deterrent Opioid Formulation.—In this section, the term “abuse-deterrent opioid formulation” means an opioid that is a prodrug or that has certain abuse-deterrent properties, such as physical or chemical barriers, agonist or antagonist combinations, aversion properties, delivery system mechanisms, or other features designed to prevent abuse of such opioid.