Gov. Malloy, Lt. Gov. Wyman Applaud House Passage of Opioid Legislation

From the State of Connecticut:

Governor Dannel P. Malloy and Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman released the following statements regarding the unanimous approval in the Connecticut House of Representatives on Monday, April 25 for legislation that the governor introduced, in collaboration with several members of the General Assembly, that will expand the state’s effort to combat the opioid epidemic:

“Addiction is a disease; we should treat it as just that. That this bill would limit opioid prescriptions for no longer than seven days is an important, proactive step to curb this alarming trend, which is impacting communities throughout our state and throughout our nation. This vote is another step forward in our efforts to ensure that those who need help get it, and I am optimistic that the Senate will swiftly approve the bill so I can sign it into law,” Gov. Malloy said. “It is critical that we continue to combat this problem, which is having a nationwide impact. We must keep moving forward and must keep tackling this critical issue.”

Governor Malloy specifically thanked the co-chairs of the Public Health Committee, State Sen. Terry Gerratana (D-New Britain) and State Rep. Matthew Ritter (D-Hartford) as well as State Rep. Sean Scanlon (D-Branford, Guilford) and State Rep. Theresa Conroy (D-Beacon Falls, Derby, Seymour) for their input in crafting the legislation in addition to the bipartisan membership of the House who supported the bill.

“I applaud the House of Representatives on passage of this legislation. I’s an important part of strengthening Connecticut communities and our public health,” Lt. Gov. Wyman said. “This bill demonstrates our strong commitment to preventing opioid addiction as well as addressing addiction and recovery.”

The legislation is House Bill 5053, An Act Increasing Access to Overdose Reversal Drugs. The amended legislation that was approved today has several provisions that will build on the state’s current actions to combat the opioid epidemic, including requiring municipalities to update their existing emergency medical services plans to ensure that the emergency responder likely to the first person on the scene of an emergency call is equipped with and prepared to administer the overdose reversal drug naloxone and has been appropriately trained to do so; closing a gap in current liability language related to a licensed health care professional who administers an opioid antagonist; prohibiting commercial health carriers from requiring prior authorization for coverage of naloxone; requiring the Alcohol and Drug Policy Council’s state plan to include, by Jan. 1, 2017, a goal of reducing the number of opioid-induced deaths in the state; limiting the prescription of opioid drugs by prohibiting, for adult patients, an initial prescription of opioid drugs for longer than seven days, prohibiting, for minor patients, any prescriptions of opioid drugs for longer than seven days and requiring the prescriber to discuss the risks associated with the drug with the patient and, if present, the custodial parent, guardian or other person having legal custody of the patient and allowing, for both adult and minor patients, a prescriber to give more than a seven-day supply of opioid drugs if, in the prescriber’s professional medical judgement, the acute or chronic pain condition requires it and requires the prescriber to note such condition in the medical record as well as making several changes to the state’s electronic prescription monitoring program to help facilitate prescriber and pharmacist compliance.

The bill next will be considered by the State Senate, where it must be approved before the governor can sign it into law.

Since 2011, Gov. Malloy introduced and signed into law several new measures that position Connecticut as a leader in the fight to prevent substance abuse and opioid overdose. Those include the 2011 adoption of Good Samaritan laws protecting individuals from prosecution for minor drug crimes who seek medical attention for a friend experiencing an overdose (Public Act 11-210); the 2012 adoption of third-party prescriber laws allowing the prescription of naloxone to an individual who is not the direct user of the drug (Public Act 12-159); the 2014 expansion of Good Samaritan protections for any person who, in good faith, administers naloxone to save a life.

Previously, only licensed health care practitioners were allowed to administer the medication without being civilly or criminally liable for the action. Following the law’s adoption, all Connecticut State police troopers completed a training program providing them with the skills to administer the medication. To date, State Troopers have saved 63 lives by utilizing this law. (Public Act 14-61)

The 2015 legislation that expanded prescriber education, made use of the Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP) mandatory for all prescribers of controlled substances, expanded the scope of practice for pharmacists to allow them to directly prescribe naloxone and reconstituted the Alcohol and Drug Policy Council (ADPC) as a statewide coordinating body to fight the spread of substance abuse and overdose (Public Act 15-198)