US Senate Health Committee Passed New Measures To Treat Heroine Epidemic
Wednesday, Mar. 16, the US Senate Health Committee pushed through a bill, which co-prescribes the Saves Lives Act, that would help slow down the onslaught of heroin addiction.
WTKR.com reports that the bill was co-sponsored by Senator Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va). As detailed, it would require federal government health facilities including the VA and DoD to co-prescribe naloxone along with any opiate prescriptions.
Citing Senator Kaine's statement, "If somebody is getting a prescription for an opioid-based pain killer, we ought to immediately have [doctors] prescribe naloxone at the same time, if they meet certain risk indicators."
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In addition, the bill will give the State Departments of Health the funding to purchase the said substance as well as employ health care professionals that would be providing the needed training.
A separate report from Huffington Post meanwhile cited the amendment pushed, this time by Senators Edward Markey (D-Mass.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) which lends greater access to buprenorphine for opioid addicts. The same condition as that of Sens. Kaine and Capito applies, giving emphasis on the counseling that comes along with the prescription.
Senators Markey and Paul's policy is still governed under the current federal regulations which indicated that doctors must first undergo a seminar before they get the certification that would allow them to prescribe the said medication. Prescription limit also applies. According to the media outlet, certified doctors can only prescribe 30 patients for the first year. The numbers can move up in the following years but should not exceed to 100.
Sen. Markey pointed this out in a press release which was also cited by the publication:
"We need to remove the barriers to effective treatment for opioid addiction, including outdated federal restrictions on medication-assisted therapies like buprenorphine. This treatment decreases overdose deaths, reduces transmission of HIV and Hepatitis C and saves lives."
If signed, the amendment could lift off the cap that would permit physicians to prescribe as many as 500 patients while also allowing medical practioners like nurses and medical assistants to make prescription for opioid addicts.
