Gov. Charlie Baker wants to further restrict the number of addictive pills doctors can prescribe and allow medical professionals to commit opiate abuse patients to involuntary treatment for three days. Baker was before lawmakers Tuesday to tout legislation he says is needed to stem tide of the opiate epidemic in Massachusetts.
The cornerstone of Baker’s plan is to allow medical clinicians to send opiate abuse patients to a treatment facility against their will for up to 72 hours. This idea was rejected by lawmakers when the previous bill was debated in 2015, in part because of fears it could further clog already full emergency departments. Now, Baker says enough treatment beds outside of ERs have come online and that the first 72 hours of evaluation and care, where patients, providers and families can identify needs and treatment plans, are crucial.
Baker said the involuntary holds would be another door to long-term treatment.
“And so part of this is create more doors in the E.R. that involve recovery couches and other possibilities with respect to people who can engage people in treatment,” Baker said.
Rep. Jeffrey Sanchez was a chief opponent of the involuntary holding proposal and helped defeat it in the House in 2015. Now the chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, Sanchez says he’s reviewing the new bill.
Sanchez spokesman Christopher Bennett told WGBH News that the Jamaica Plain Democrat is interested in feedback from the hearing.
“He’s had concerns in the past about previous versions of the idea but the opioid crisis is something that requires careful consideration of all proposals that could have an impact,” Bennett said.
Part of Baker’s plan calls for more use of “blister-packs” for pharmaceuticals, only a handful of pills at a time, to cut down on overprescribing.
“I’ve had lots of conversations with lots of doctors and especially dentists about why people for so long wrote 30 day 60 day prescriptions for stuff that really would’ve - where three or four pills probably would have been enough. And the answer is there no mechanism in place to actually issue that type of a prescription,” Baker said.
The bill would also fund more drug screening programs for school children.
Baker says his bill fills in some of the administrative gaps that the 2016 law didn’t address or that have become apparent as the state addresses the epidemic. It would create credentials and oversight for treatment facilities to crackdown on fraudulent facilities.
Though Baker’s bill does not include it, some lawmakers want to add language to the bill to legalize supervised injection sites. A similar bill was heard by lawmakers in August, but isn’t likely to move out of committee without support from Beacon Hill’s top Democratic leaders.
Boston City Councilor Annissa Essaibi George agrees the supervised injection sites can save lives, but she has doubts about what comes next for an addicted person.
“I think we need a lot more information regarding the true impact they have on an individual who is in active addiction and whether or not they can actually find recovery through using a safe injection facility,” George said.
