Baker Supports Special Session on Opioid Abuse
HARRISBURG – Opioid addiction, which often starts with prescription pain killers and later moves to illegal drugs such as heroin, is having a profound impact on both our state and country, announced Rep. Matt Baker (R-Tioga/Bradford/Potter), which is why he joined a press conference with both Republican and Democrat House leaders in encouraging Gov. Tom Wolf to call attention to the issue through the use of a special session on opioid abuse.
“The Legislature has already been moving and passing into law several meaningful bills aimed at addressing drug abuse in our state, but death rates and hospitalizations due to drug abuse continue to rise,” said Baker. “Clearly, more still needs to be done to stop the proliferation of drugs on our streets, curb the use of prescription pain killers and have programs in place to help those who are addicted.”
According to the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council, Northcentral Pennsylvania, the rural 10-county region including Tioga County, saw the state’s largest percentage-wise growth in hospitalizations for heroin overdoses between 2000 and 2014, with a 509 percent increase.
“Drug abuse is certainly not just an urban issue, as our rural areas are getting hit hard and we need to work collaboratively among state and local officials, law enforcement, school districts, the medical community and families to recognize and attack this deadly epidemic,” said Baker.
The Pennsylvania House of Representatives formed a House Task Force and Advisory Committee on Opioid Prescription Drug Proliferation last session, which proposed a series of bills designed to proactively address the growing opioid epidemic in the Commonwealth. The House completed action on that package of bills this week. The measures addressed opioid addiction by improving insurance coverage of abuse-deterrent opioids; setting a limit on opioid prescriptions in emergency rooms; requiring prescribers and dispensers to undergo continuing education in pain management, addiction and prescribing practices; mandating that publicly funded recovery houses have the opioid overdose antidote on hand; and directing the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs to find ways to increase access to addiction treatment through health plans.
Baker, who has been very active on this issue, also had legislation he authored signed into law recently that will speed up the process by which new substances used in the manufacturing of illegal designer drugs can be added to the state’s banned list of drugs and enable law enforcement to arrest and prosecute individuals for use of these new drug cocktails.
“Today’s criminals are experimenting with new drug combinations in their quest to manufacture new, addictive illegal drugs. My legislation, now law, allows the use of these new substances and combination chemicals to be quickly added to the state’s banned list – a process that previously took a fair amount of time to accomplish. Law enforcement will now be able to keep up with the quickly changing illegal drug market and prosecute those who possess these substances with the intent to manufacture illegal drugs,” said Baker.
Other measures recently passed into law that are designed to help address the drug abuse problem plaguing our state include a new electronic database listing all controlled substances that are prescribed and dispensed in Pennsylvania. The database will help identity drug addiction, improve patient care and prescribing practices, uncover drug diversion and identify “doctor shopping.” Also, two new laws encourage others to call for help in the event of a drug or alcohol emergency and help reverse opioid-based overdoses.
Find more information on House efforts to combat the state’s opioid epidemic here.
Representative Matthew Baker
68th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Tricia Lehman
tlehman@pahousegop.com
www.RepBaker.com