As the 2018 Opioid Crisis Response Act advances in the U.S. Senate, Delaware’s Senior Sen. Tom Carper is introducing two additional pieces of legislation meant to combat the public health epidemic.
The first of two bipartisan bills would require centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services to expand the use of telemedicine to treat people with substance abuse disorder. This measure is cosponsored by Sen. John Thune (R-SD).
Delaware has already taken steps to further develop its telemedicine services, but Carper says this bill would go even further. He says it would be of particular benefit to children receiving care in high-school based health centers as well as patients living in remote areas.
“Sometimes people don’t take advantage of treatment that’s available and counseling that’s available for opioid addiction because it’s like on the other side of the state or the other side of the county and they don’t have the ability to get there. So the idea here is through the technology—through the magic of telehealth—to bring that treatment right to somebody’s neighborhood,” said Carper.
The second bill, cosponsored by Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KAN), calls for an increased use of electronic prior authorization. This would allow health professionals to receive medical records more quickly to authorize medication-assisted treatment for opioid addiction. Carper says sometimes this process can take days.
“This takes a lot of time out of that process. It’s hard enough to get people who are addicted to say they need help and actually get that help, and when they’re ready to get it it’s important we make sure they get it in a timely way,” he said.
100 people in Delaware have died from suspected opioid overdoses this year.
