Senator Kelly Applauds Passage of Opioid Legislation

HARTFORD, Conn. – Today State Senator Kevin Kelly (R-Stratford) stood in strong support of HB 7052, An Act Preventing Prescription Opioid Diversion and Abuse.

“I am proud to report that this legislation was unanimously adopted by the Senate this afternoon in concurrence with the House,” said Sen. Kelly. “Communities and families throughout Connecticut have been affected more and more by opioid addiction and prescription drug abuse. This legislation works to address this crisis by taking direct steps to educate and bring awareness to opioid abuse, and how to battle back against this disease.”

The bill makes several changes to prevent and treat opioid drug abuse, including:

• Requiring individual and group health insurers to cover medically necessary detox treatments
• Requiring a treatment facility to use admissions criteria developed by the American Society of Addiction Medicine, which urges admission regardless of health status or addiction levels
• Limiting access to controlled substances by allowing certain registered nurses employed by home health care agencies to destroy or dispose of them
• Requiring practitioners, when prescribing opioids, to discuss with all patients, rather than only minors, the risks associated with opioid drug use
• The bill reduces, from a seven day supply to a five day supply, the maximum amount of an opioid drug a practitioner may prescribe to a minor
• The bill requires prescriptions for controlled substances to be electronically transmitted – with a few exceptions including if the prescriber demonstrates that they do not have the technological capacity
• The bill also creates a standing order – a non-patient specific prescription to licensed pharmacists to prescribe Naloxone

“It is hard to find a family or community that has not been touched by opioid addiction in one way or another,” said Sen. Kelly. “This bill works to not only bring awareness to this problem, but provides for practical, forward-thinking ways in which we can aide in Connecticut’s fight against opioid addiction and abuse. At the end of the day this will help everyday Connecticut families face the heart-breaking challenge of addressing opioid abuse and the trials that go along with that difficulty.”

HB 7052 now heads to the governor’s desk and awaits his signature.