The legislation expands access to treatment services, provides training to medical professionals and the public and limits opioid prescriptions, among other critical steps to get those affected on the road to recovery.
“The problem of opioid and heroin addiction will not be solved overnight, but these measures will help save lives now,” Assemblywoman Russell said. “This legislation will place a focus on opioid prescriptions, which we know is an important issue in this battle.”
The legislative package includes a measure to educate doctors and ensure those prescribed opioids are aware of the risk of addiction. It also aims to prevent misuse by limiting an initial opioid prescription to a seven-day supply, and requires insurance companies to provide coverage for a minimum of 14 days of inpatient treatment without prior authorization (A.10727).
The legislation also expands access to treatment and recovery services. One measure increases the amount of time an individual incapacitated by drugs or alcohol can be kept at a treatment facility for detoxification services and requires those facilities to provide specific information in their discharge planning to help ensure individuals are connected with treatment after they detox (A.10725).
It also requires insurers to provide five days of coverage for withdrawal treatment and eliminates the need for prior authorization by managed care companies for buprenorphine and Vivitrol – drugs used to treat opioid dependence.
Another piece of legislation will allow social workers and certain other licensed professionals to administer Narcan – a drug which counteracts an opioid overdose – in an emergency (A.10726).
It would also require the state to issue quarterly reports on overdoses and Narcan use, on a county-by- county basis, and require hospitals to implement discharge planning for patients who have – or are at risk for – a substance use disorder.
Assemblywoman Russell has also taken a more hands-on approach in the North Country to combat heroin- and opioid-related addictions by hosting a training course for medical professionals to be able to prescribe buprenorphine last week in Alexandria Bay.
The training course was co-sponsored by the Alliance for Better Communities, Fort Drum Regional Health Planning Organization and North Country Initiative.
She also introduced legislation that makes comprehensive information pertaining to opioid overdoses more readily available to the public (A.10062) as well as legislation that would require certain law enforcement officers to carry medication that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose (A.10492).