Press Releases
05/03/2016
Gov. Malloy and Lt. Gov. Wyman Hail Final Legislative Passage of Bill Combating Opioid Addiction
(HARTFORD, CT) - Governor Dannel P. Malloy and Lt. Governor Nancy Wyman are hailing a vote in the State Senate this evening to approve legislation the Governor proposed - in collaboration with several members of the General Assembly - that will expand the state's effort to combat the opioid epidemic. The bill received approval last week in the House of Representatives, and it will next be transmitted to the Governor, who will sign it into law in the coming days.
Governor Malloy said, "This is a big step - and it's an important action for families statewide. This is a devastating trend that is hurting families in so many communities across our country and here at home. That is why we put together this comprehensive package, which will be the fifth bill in last six years. As we fight this epidemic, we're also working to prevent addiction from occurring in the first place. Thanks to the overwhelmingly bipartisan response from lawmakers, many of whom worked with us to draft this bill, the action we are taking will take us another step forward and will have a positive impact on peoples' lives."
Lt. Governor Wyman said, "Addressing opioid abuse must be part of Connecticut's public health strategy. This legislation, in conjunction with the initiatives we've put in place over the past six years, will help us combat addiction, reduce overdose deaths, and improve screening. I applaud Governor Malloy's leadership and thank our legislature for their work and commitment to public health."
The legislation is House Bill 5053, An Act Increasing Access to Overdose Reversal Drugs. The comprehensive bill 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 January 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
- 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
- Making several changes to the state's electronic prescription monitoring program to help facilitate prescriber and pharmacist compliance
Since 2011, Governor 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)
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