House Passes Substance Addiction Legislation: Bill Limits Prescriptions, Improves Hospital Overdose Response

MASSACHUSETTS, MA -- Rep. Carmine Gentile, who represents the 13th Middlesex District, including Marlborough, Wayland and Sudbury, joined his colleagues in state’s House of Representatives last week to pass substance addiction legislation that creates a new standard to evaluate and treat patients who present in emergency rooms with an apparent overdose. This new best practice, which will be covered by insurance, is designed to ensure the proper assessment and discharge of patients who seek voluntary treatment, said the announcement.

The bill limits first-time opiate prescriptions to seven days for adults and all opiate prescriptions for minors to seven days, with with exceptions for chronic pain management, cancer, and palliative care. Additionally, practitioners must check the prescription monitoring program (PMP) each time they prescribe any opiate and correspondingly note that in the patient’s medical records.

“We are in the midst of a public health crisis that is draining vitality from our hometowns, extinguishing lives and stealing souls,” said House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo, D-Winthrop, in a statement. “The House has crafted legislation and budgets that complement each other and set a foundation for continual improvement. I’m proud of that strategy, especially our emphasis on consensus-building. I wholeheartedly thank my colleagues and Chairs Malia, Dempsey and Sánchez for their creative, unassuming and compassionate commitment to paving a path for the recovery of thousands of our loved ones, and in fact, a path for our wounded Commonwealth.”

“Over the years I have worked with a great many families and individuals seeking treatment for substance abuse and dealing with the problems it spawns,” said Rep. Gentile in the announcement. “This bill offers a strong step forward in treatment and prevention to heal and alleviate suffering in every community.”

In an effort to build upon current prevention efforts, the legislation updates current law requiring all public schools to have a policy regarding substance abuse education by requiring schools to report their plans to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). DESE will then consult with the Department of Public Health (DPH) to provide recommendations that will assist schools and ensure they are providing effective and up-to-date education. Additional education materials will be provided to all student-athletes.

This bill also:

· Requires that contact information for all insurers be posted on the bed-finder tool website and updates the law to ensure the site is available 24 hours a day;

· Ends the practice of sending women who are civilly committed for alcohol or substance-use disorders to MCI-Framingham;

· Ensures civil-liability protection for individuals who administer Narcan;

· Updates the training guidelines for all practitioners who prescribe controlled substances;

· Establishes the Massachusetts Council on Substance Use Disorder Prevention and Treatment, which will help the Commonwealth understand and confront addiction in a unified way.

This legislation follows a 65.2 percent increase in substance addiction funding since FY12 and the landmark substance addiction law passed in 2014 which, for the first time, mandated detox and stabilization coverage. The two bills are intended to complement each other and reflect a consensus-driven approach. This legislation now moves to a six-member conference committee consisting of 3 members of the House of Representative and 3 members of the Senate where the two versions of these bills will be merged.