Click here to listen to the townhall recording.
eHealth Initiative invites you to our Virtual Townhall on e-Prescribing. This panel features congressional health aides ready to answer members’ questions about electronic prescribing and the opioid crisis. During this session you will find out how the opioid issue fits into Congress’ overall health care and IT agenda and which provisions have the most bipartisan support. Panelists are ready to answer all of your questions and more. The Virtual Townhall is a member's only event.
A burst of bipartisan support resulted in the passage of H.R. 6 (SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act). The Every Prescription Conveyed Securely (EPSC) Act (HR 3528) is one of the 60+ pieces of legislation being bound into the HR 6 package. EPSC would require providers to electronically prescribe all controlled substances covered under Medicaid Part D. E-prescribing and the EPCS Act are tools that help physicians track prescriptions, decrease prescription fraud, and battle the opioid epidemic.
Every day, 46 people die of drug overdoses involving prescription opioids [1]. Last year, about 64,000 deaths were attributed to prescription drugs [2]. In 2016, more Americans died of drug overdoses than there was US casualties in the entire Vietnam war [3]. Recently, many leaders have stepped up in the fight against the opioid crisis. President Trump labeled the problem a nationwide public health emergency and followed that with a Commission on Combatting Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis. eHealth Initiative has joined the fight.
Join us on Wednesday, September 5 at 2:00 pm EST for this important and timely discussion. Email emma@ehidc.org to participate.
Speakers:
Kate Cassling, Legislative Assistant
Office of Senator Joe Manchin
Kate is a Legislative Assistant for US Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) specializing in healthcare, education, and labor policy with a particular emphasis on the opioid epidemic. She staffs the Senator in his work on the Senate Appropriations Labor, Health and Human Services Subcommittee and the Joint Select Committee on Solvency of Multiemployer Pension Plans. She started working on Capitol Hill as an intern eight years ago with Senator Susan Collins from Maine. She has also worked in the House of Representatives for Congresswoman Dina Titus from Las Vegas where she handled a wide range of social domestic policy issues, including healthcare. Prior to coming to the Hill, Kate spent a year working at a law firm and two years living in Tel Aviv, Israel where she worked as an English teacher in the local public school system and completed her M.A. in Education. She graduated from Swarthmore College in 2007 with a degree in Economics. Originally from Maine, Kate lives in Washington, D.C. with her husband Xan who serves as Chief of Staff to Congressman John Delaney and her two daughters, Eliana and Diana.
Stuart Portman, Senior Health Policy Advisor
Senate Finance Committee
Stuart Portman serves as Health Policy Advisor for the majority staff of the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance. In this capacity, he handles issues related to Medicaid, CHIP, and ACA Exchanges. Previously, he served as the Senior Health Care Legislative Assistant and Legislative Correspondent for Senator Hatch. Stuart received his Master of Public Health degree specializing in health policy from the Milken Institute School of Public Health at The George Washington University. While there, his coursework focused on Medicaid and CHIP, as well as ethical debates within the health services community.
Nicholas Uehlecke, Professional Staff
House Ways and Means Committee, Subcommittee on Health
Nick Uehlecke is a professional staff member for the House Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health majority staff. His portfolio includes all Medicare Part B issues. He previously worked on Medicare Advantage & Part D policies as well as Medicare fraud and program integrity across the system. Nick has been with the Subcommittee since the start of 2011, prior to which he was an analyst for the Marwood Group in several fields including health care for nearly three years. Nick is a graduate of the University of Richmond.
