Senate OK’s substance abuse treatment bill

In response to a spike in the number of heroin and opioid overdoses throughout the state in recent months, the Senate on May 13 unanimously passed a bill intended to improve access to substance abuse treatment.

The bill calls for a range of policy changes and studies related to substance abuse. A new Substance Abuse Commission would study best practices for effective treatment, which would culminate in certification standards for substance abuse treatment providers.

The bill also calls for an ongoing investigation of mental health and substance use disorders in Massachusetts.

A new commission would be created to certify safer substitutes for drugs with a high risk of abuse.

Insurance companies would be required to provide coverage for substance abuse treatment services for up to 21 days without requiring pre-authorization. Additionally, insurance companies would be required to cover prescription opioids with abuse-deterrent properties at the same cost to patients as those without abuse deterrent properties.

The bill would require the chief medical examiner to file a report with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration each time a death is attributed to a controlled substance, an effort to produce better real-time data about the number of substance abuse fatalities.

The state’s public health commissioner would be authorized to temporarily categorize a drug as Class I if it is judged to be an imminent hazard to public health, a move that would restrict access to the drug.

The bill follows the work of a six-member special Senate task force created in January and charged with examining addiction and the availability of treatment in Massachusetts. The task force, chaired by Sen. Jennifer Flanagan of Leominster, held public hearings across the state as part of a listening tour.

The bill (S. 2133) was sent to the House, which must act quickly in order for the bill to become law, as the formal legislative session ends on July 31.