Congress passed legislation this week that makes changes at the federal level in approaches to treating opiate addiction.
The bill won final approval from the Senate on Wednesday.
Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., who worked on the bill in the Senate Judiciary Committee, helped shepherd it through Congress.
“For too long, Congress relied on punitive measures that only served to push addicts further underground and away from recovery,” Leahy said in a statement. “This legislation treats opioid addiction as an illness, and combats it as we would any other public health issue: through a commitment to evidence-based prevention, treatment and recovery programs.”
Vermont’s health commissioner, Dr. Harry Chen, said Friday that he expects the federal legislation will help make treatment more accessible in Vermont.
The bill will allow nurse practitioners and physician assistants to prescribe suboxone, a drug used in medication-assisted treatment for opiate addiction. Until now, only physicians have been permitted to prescribe it.
A federal rule change also will allow prescribers to take on as many as 275 patients for medication-assisted treatment, instead of the current cap of 100.
Chen said the federal bill could reduce wait times to get into so-called treatment hubs, where patients go to receive medications every day, by increasing the number of “spoke” providers, often primary care providers, where patients receive treatment weekly or monthly.
Chen said his department worked with Leahy’s office on the legislation. He said the federal bill reflects the approach Vermont has taken to opiate addiction as a public health issue.
The bill also lays a foundation to expand access to naloxone, an overdose reversal drug, to emergency responders in rural areas. However, much of the funding was stripped from the bill.
Leahy was among four senators to introduce a separate bill Thursday that would provide funding for the policies and programs.
