WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, D-New York, and U.S. Senator Cory Gardner, R-Colo., have introduced the John S. McCain Opioid Addiction and Prevention Act to limit the supply of initial opioid prescriptions for acute pain to seven days.

The legislation is named after late-Senator John McCain, who was the Republican lead of the legislation during the last Congress.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are nearly two million Americans misusing prescription opioids, and each day, 41 people die from an overdose related to these prescription painkillers. The CDC also found that in 2017, 68 percent of drug overdose deaths involved an opioid. This bill would create a seven-day prescription limit for opioids so that no more than a seven-day supply may be prescribed to a patient at one time for acute pain, such as a wisdom tooth removal or a broken bone. This would help restrict the excess supply of opioids and help minimize the risk of abuse.

“Too many families throughout New York and our country have suffered from the devastating consequences of the opioid epidemic. No community has been left untouched, and we need to be proactive when it comes to ending this crisis,” Gillibrand said. “One of the root causes of opioid abuse is the over-prescription of these powerful and addictive drugs. I’m proud to join with Senator Gardner to introduce bipartisan legislation that limits the over-prescription of opioids. This would help our communities combat opioid addiction, and I urge my colleagues in Congress to pass this bill.”

The John S. McCain Opioid Addiction and Prevention Act would help reduce the amount of excess opioids by requiring medical professionals, as a part of their Drug Enforcement Agency registration, to certify that they will not prescribe an opioid as an initial treatment for acute pain in an amount that exceeds a seven-day supply. Medical professionals would also have to certify that they would not provide a refill. Under current federal law, a medical professional must register with the DEA in order to be allowed to prescribe a controlled substance in the United States. This registration must be renewed every three years.

The seven-day prescription limit would not apply to the treatment of chronic pain; pain being treated as part of cancer care, hospice care, or other end-of-life care; or pain treated as part of palliative care. The federal legislation is modeled after laws in several states. Currently, fifteen states, including New York, limit initial opioid prescriptions for acute pain.