Assemblyman Brian Curran (Lynbrook-21st A.D.) today applauded the package of bills (Assembly Bills 10725, 10726, 10727) agreed upon by legislative leaders to address the heroin and opioid epidemic in New York State, saying it is a great first step. Curran and his Assembly Minority colleagues have been calling for immediate action on heroin and opioid abuse legislation since January. Curran said he supports the package.
“Heroin addiction and abuse on Long Island and across the state are increasing rapidly, and something has to be done to protect our children, families and loved ones from this very dangerous epidemic,” said Curran “This legislative package isn’t perfect, but it’s definitely better than nothing, considering Assembly Democrats refused to take up this issue just last month. Because the legislation only affects state-registered health insurance plans and not self-insured plans, our work here is definitely not finished. I am proud to stand by our children and families in support of these measures.”
In January, Curran and his colleagues presented the Assembly Republican Task Force on Heroin Addiction & Community Response report, which offers a comprehensive approach to addressing many of the issues relating to education and prevention, detoxification, rehabilitation and recovery, called the HELP (Heroin Elimination & Prevention) Plan. Since then, some results from that report have been translated into legislative and policy initiatives.
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Curran said some of the items he and his colleagues have been calling for made it into this package as well. Those items include restricting access to opioid drugs for short-term pain, requiring education for prescribers on pain management and addiction, and making sure insurers are paying for necessary treatment. Other measures of the bill that Curran supports include:
· Mandates on insurance coverage for inpatient services;
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· Requiring pharmacists to provide additional education and counseling to those receiving opioids;
· Creating a substance use disorder policies for hospitals;
· Significant changes to step protocol also knows as “fail first;”
· Requiring insurance companies and managed care providers to cover, without prior authorization, emergency supplies of medications for the treatment of substance use disorder; and
· Increasing the length of time individuals can be held, from 48 to 72 hours, at an OASAS designated treatment facility for emergency treatment.
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