Senate OKs Metzger bill to fight opioids
Legislation sponsored by state Sen. Jen Metzger that aims to battle the opioid crisis has been approved by the Senate.
Metzger, D-Rosendale, said her bill, S.5653-A, is focused on stopping “illegal overprescription” of opioid medications.
“The bill ... directs the [state] Department of Health to periodically examine data from the prescription drug monitoring registry to ensure there is no inappropriate or illegal prescribing,” Metzger’s office said in a prepared statement.
“The Department of Health has data at its disposal to track flagrant overprescribing of opioids, and the legislation I’ve introduced ... will give the department a valuable tool to crack down on this illegal practice and help prevent addiction and its devastating consequences,” Metzger said.
The bill is awaiting action by the state Assembly.
In total, the Senate has passed 17 bills to address different aspects of the opioid crisis. They focus on such things as medical education and training, prescribing, access to overdose antidotes, insurance, and access to evidence-based, person-centered treatment.
One bill would require that clinical social workers, psychologists and licensed mental health counselors undergo training or course work on how best to prevent or address drug addiction. Another would mandate that state prisoners with opioid disorders, upon their release, receive medication known for undoing the effects of an opioid overdose. A third would let patients who have concerns about their prescriptions in their homes request it to be filled only partially.
“Our work is in no way done, but we have taken an important step forward in this fight,” Metzger said. “The communities I represent have been deeply affected by the opioid crisis, with Ulster, Sullivan, Orange and Delaware counties all facing staggering opioid-related death rates that far exceed the state average.
There is no doubt that the package of opioid legislation passed will save lives.”
While the number of opioid prescriptions is declining, recent news accounts have highlighted a small number of “bad-apple physicians in New York who have illegally overprescribed opioids to their patients,” Metzger’s office said.
Metzger said her legislation does not aim to punish well-meaning doctors.
“I have the greatest respect for the medical profession and believe that these bad apples are exceptions to the rule, but we cannot afford any exceptions,” she said. “They can cause outsized harm and cost lives.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.