Federal regulation is needed to stop people from defrauding Medicaid by abusing prescription drugs, said U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown.

Yesterday, Brown announced a plan to reintroduce the Stop Trafficking of Pills Act to crack down on the fraudulent use of Medicaid cards to obtain and fill prescriptions for pain killers.

Prescription drug abuse is an epidemic in Ohio, Brown said, and prescription pain medications, such as oxycodone, morphine, and methadone, are largely responsible for increasing numbers of overdoses and deaths in the state.