House Approves New Opioid Legislation

May 31, 2017

Dear Neighbor,

We have been making steady progress in dealing with Connecticut’s opioid crisis, but we still have a long way to go. Legislation we passed today that I championed is another step in the right direction.

House Bill 7052, An Act Preventing Prescription Opioid Diversion and Abuse, won bipartisan support as our latest effort in combating Connecticut’s opioid crisis.

This year in Connecticut, more people will die from drug overdoses than car accidents and gun violence combined, so we have to continue to do everything possible to find ways to end this scourge.

The legislation does the following:

  • Reduces the maximum opioid drug prescription for minors from 7 days to 5 days and maintains current law that allows a prescribing practitioner to exceed the limit for chronic pain, palliative care or acute pain if necessary as long as it is documented in the medical record
  • Requires individual and group health insurers to cover medically necessary detox treatment, as defined by American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) so that those looking for help cannot be turned away due to insurance issues
  • Facilitates the destruction of unused medication by utilizing RN's employed for home health care agencies
  • Allows an home health care RN to oversee the disposal of controlled substances, including going to a prescription drug drop box
  • Increases data sharing between state agencies regarding opioid abuse or opioid overdose deaths
  • Increases security of controlled substances prescriptions by requiring scheduled drugs be electronically prescribed

There is no magic solution, but I believe that if we keep on fighting, we will conquer this epidemic

-- Toni