Health Services Committee advances cleanup changes to Kentucky prescription monitoring system

House Bill 389, a cleanup bill for Kentucky’s prescription monitoring system, passed the Committee on Health Services unanimously after staff described implementation issues that require legislative change.

The bill, proponents said, addresses problems the Office of the Inspector General encountered while implementing CASPER, the Kentucky All‑Schedule Prescription Electronic Reporting System, and cannot be resolved by administrative regulation. The measure makes a single substantive change to align the definition of “practitioner” for out‑of‑state and in‑state providers.

Tim Anderson, assistant director of the Office of Inspector General, told the committee the changes are limited in scope and meant to fix implementation problems. “House Bill 389 is a cleanup bill that simply addresses problematic issues that the Office of the Inspector General has encountered as it has implemented the CASPER program,” Anderson said. He added that the adjustments cannot be accomplished through regulation.

Committee members heard that similar language was included in House Bill 290, which passed the House 98–0 in 2023; this year’s proposal differs only in how it defines practitioner in section 2 to ensure parity between in‑state and out‑of‑state providers.

Representative Robert Duvall of District 17 introduced the bill at the table and representatives moved and seconded the measure for committee consideration. No substantive questions were raised during the committee’s brief discussion.

The committee clerk conducted a roll call; the transcript records 14 affirmative votes during the committee’s vote on HB 389. The chair announced the bill passed unanimously and that the measure should likewise pass in the House.

Votes at the committee roll call (as recorded in the transcript): Representative Bratcher — yes; Representative Calloway — aye; Representative Camille — yes; Representative Duvall — yes; Representative Fleming — aye; Representative Gordon — yes; Representative Holloway — yes; Representative Marzion — yes; Representative Neighbors — yes; Representative Rayburn — yes; Representative Riley — yes; Representative Sharp — aye; Representative Wilner — yes; Chair Mosher — yes. (Tally recorded in transcript: 14 yes.)

Why it matters: CASPER is the state’s prescription drug monitoring program used to track prescriptions for controlled substances and other scheduled drugs. Proponents said the bill prevents implementation gaps that could cause confusion for providers and the agency administering the system.

Next steps: The committee reported HB 389 favorably; the chair said it should pass in the House. No amendments or referrals were recorded in committee.

Speakers quoted or who spoke on the record in committee included Representative Robert Duvall; Josh Hartas, Executive Director, Office of Legislative and Regulatory Affairs, Cabinet for Health and Family Services; and Tim Anderson, Assistant Director, Office of Inspector General.