Should Licensed Doctors be Allowed to Carry and Administer Controlled Substances Outside of Their Home State? (H.R. 1492)

What is H.R. 1492?

(Updated April 15, 2019)

This bill would create a registration process at the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) which allows physicians and practitioners to transport and administer controlled substances to patients outside of the state they’re registered in. It would establish a process within the DEA that allows physicians to register for the purpose of transporting and administering controlled outside their home state.

Under current law, travelling practitioners (like doctors for athletic teams) are prohibited from transporting or administering controlled substances (such as many pain medications) outside of the state they’re registered in.

Argument in favor

This bill clarifies rules to allow traveling physicians to transport and administer controlled substances when traveling outside the state they’re registered in.

Argument opposed

The DEA and federal regulators should only allow doctors to transport and administer controlled substances in the state they’re registered in.

Impact

Patients in need of controlled substances; doctors who are outside their registration state; and the DEA.

Cost of H.R. 1492

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Sponsoring Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX) introduced this bill to clarify rules related to transporting and administering controlled substances for traveling physicians:

“As we have seen in the news lately, the rules for traveling physicians are not clearly defined. I am working to provide necessary guidance to clarify the requirements of physicians whose jobs inherently require transporting controlled substances. In addition to providing much needed clarity, this measure will also increase oversight to ensure physicians are appropriately administering controlled substances to their patients. I believe this is an extremely important issue for all doctors, sports doctors in particular, and this bill will provide them with the opportunity to provide their athletes and patients with much needed medical care under the authority of the DEA.”

This legislation was passed by the House Energy and Commerce Committee on a voice vote.

Of Note: The NCAA, the primary governing body for college athletics, released a guidance for member institutions who have physicians traveling with teams across state lines to clear up confusion surrounding state and federal laws. DEA regulations only allow controlled substances to be prescribed, stored and dispensed from locations cleared with the agency. So in the NCAA's case, athletic trainers or team doctors at member schools could be accused of violating the law by transporting and administering controlled substances outside of their home state.

Media:

• Sponsoring Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX) Press Release
  
• NCAA (Context)