For prevention and access to appropriate care and treatment of addiction

What it means

The Senate Ways and Means version of the opioid and substance use disorder bill (proposed to replace the House text of H4742). It requires electronic prescriptions for controlled substances from January 1, 2020, has the state issue a statewide standing order so pharmacists can dispense naloxone, requires insurers to adjust cost-sharing for partial fills of Schedule II opioids and plan coverage for non-opioid pain treatment, and requires hospital emergency departments to be able to offer medication for opioid addiction after an overdose. All state and county jails and prisons would have to be able to provide FDA-approved addiction medications and continue them for people already in treatment (phased in from January 1, 2019), and civil commitment facilities would have to offer them. It also directs the Department of Public Health to write rules for a pilot of 'harm reduction sites' where people may use pre-obtained drugs under medical supervision, with local board of health approval, creates a school-based substance use prevention trust fund and a student loan repayment program for human services workers, and sets up commissions on recovery coaches, peer specialists and treatment.

Source: official text and history of S.2609 on malegislature.gov. This describes the bill text posted there; amendments may have changed the version that was voted on.