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House Passes Prescription Pill Bill, Hopes to Hatch a Compromise With Senate Version

A bill aimed at strengthening  prescription pill tracking  to crack down on abuse has cleared the Kentucky House.The measure  is one of the chief priorities of House Speaker Greg Stumbo, whose work on the issue dates back to his time as attorney general.House Bill 4 would move the KASPER pill tracking system to the attorney general’s office permanently, which is the key part of what Stumbo calls landmark legislation.“KASPER is a law enforcement tool and by moving the oversight to the Attorney General’s office I think what will occur is that there will be a more rapid response by all of the entities involved in not only in the regulation but the investigation of these types of matters,” Stumbo said.The bill would also force medical licensure boards to act on reports of illegal over prescribing and allow more law enforcement and doctors to access KASPER reports.A similar bill is making its way through the state Senate. Stumbo says he hopes a compromise between the two approaches can be hatched by the end of the session.“As I’ve said they are not meant to compete with each other they are meant to compliment each other. We just want a good comprehensive bill. I think you saw a pretty good showing here today of support to do that,” Stumbo says.The Senate passed its version of the bill out of committee today. It’s expected to be voted on soon by the full chamber.