As of this writing, the world’s concern is understandably
and correctly focused on the coronavirus and the COVID-19 disease it begets.
The lack of either a vaccine or a cure, along with its blitzkrieg-like spread
onto every continent, is precisely the extreme crisis that draws all attention,
to the exclusion of nearly all other problems. This is no less true of our
elected and appointed leaders who have had to put almost all else aside in
order to deal with this worsening emergency. Nevertheless, addictive illnesses
have not gone away during this time; and some proposals have moved partially
through the state legislative process in the past few weeks, including:
* A.809/S.877 – Requires jails and prisons to develop plans
to provide peer counseling and peer health navigators to support the treatment
of substance use disorders. S.877 was approved on a unanimous Health Committee
vote and sent to the Appropriations Committee. Its companion, A.804, is in the
Law and Public Safety Committee.
* S.491 and S.241 – are two bills that would reform some of
the workings of Drug Court. Specifically, they would permit more offenses to be
eligible for admission, liberalize the expungement process, and restrict Drug
Court’s authority to revoke a person’s participation in the program, or to
disallow certain individuals to be admitted in to the Intensive Supervision
Program (ISP). Both of these legislative proposals were released by the Senate
Judiciary Committee, and will now travel to the full Senate for a Floor vote.
Beyond these – over five thousand bills have been introduced
in to the 2020/21 Legislative Term. The following are only some of the measures
NCADD-NJ is monitoring:
* A.3004/S.805 – Permit people with drug distribution, or
intent to distribute, convictions to be eligible for General Assistance
(welfare) benefits
* S.1109 and S.1173 – Examine the issue of health insurers’
network adequacy
* S.151/A.672 – Limit the release of a patient’s private
information to insurance carriers
* A.275/S.1112 – Reduce court-ordered fines owed by a drug
or alcohol-dependent person upon the completion of a treatment program
* A.2684/S.1073 – Authorizes public libraries to maintain a
supply of opioid antidotes and permits emergency administration of an opioid
antidote by a librarian or another trained library employee
* A.3364 and S.2079 and A.2124/S.2170 – Establishes the
Office of Alcohol, Drug, and Tobacco Use Control Policy (Drug Czar)
* S.1763/A.2280 – Prohibits certain substance use disorder
therapy facilities from paying fees, commissions, or rebates to any person to
refer patients to a program (patient brokering)
* S.1788/A.2642 – Requires hospitals to inquire whether
patients have a substance use disorder and establish protocols for providing or
referring to treatment
* A.3158/S.508 – Mandates that all public and nonpublic
secondary schools annually conduct written or verbal substance use screening on
all students using a particular screening program
* S.892/A.2649 – Requires nursing homes to provide training
to staff in behavioral health issues
* A.3284 – Requires pharmacies to maintain a stock of opioid
antidotes
* A.271 – Changes the name “Drug Court” to “Recovery Court”
* S.1121/A.3295 – Increases Medicaid reimbursement rates for
certain evidence-based behavioral health services to Medicare levels
* A.2295/S.1731 – Mandates the curriculum in medical schools
include instruction in the treatment and management of opiate-dependent
patients that meets the minimum training requirements established for
physicians to be authorized to prescribe narcotic drugs
* S.1844/A.2269 – Requires hospitals to include a warning in
patient discharge papers concerning the risks of addiction and overdose
associated with opioid medications
* A.1059 – Requires institutions of higher education to
maintain a supply of opioid antidotes and permits the emergency administration
of an opioid antidote by a campus medical professional or trained employee
* A.677 – Authorizes Overdose Prevention Centers (safe
injection sites)
For more information on these bills, go to www.njleg.state.nj.us
In the midst of the uncertainty and dread caused by the
coronavirus, NCADD-NJ staff and volunteer Advocates will continue to direct
their work, and the concentration of the policy-makers, on repairing the
devastation caused by behavioral health disorders.
