Beech Tree News Network

BELTON, KY—Two of the issues we have heard about repeatedly over the years are substance use/abuse and addiction. A report was released on June 1 that revealed Kentucky’s fatal drug overdose rate has increased 15% over the last year and it has been steadily rising year after year except for an isolated reduction in 2018. You can find the data supplied in the report at https://kiprc,uky,edu

Every year I have served we have passed bills either to try new initiatives or to improve on previous passed legislation to try and help address the issues legislatively. I will share a few of those measures passed during the 2022 Session and the overarching goal of why they were addressed.

HB 127 will expand to other parts of the state the use of Tim’s Law that was codified in 2017. It allows families, mental health providers, law enforcement officers, and others to help someone with a severe mental illness (SMI) by court-ordered assisted outpatient treatment (AOT).

The “black robe effect” is used to try and create the sense of importance of following their plan of care. The goal is to get them out of the revolving door of either being incarcerated or hospitalized due to the fact that they are not taking their medications routinely or consistently and they keep repeating harmful behaviors. There have been significant successes in Jefferson County in a pilot program. We are trying to build and grow a system of care that helps individuals manage their lives better and provides the right tools for a successful recovery.

HB 215, otherwise known as Dalton’s Law, enhances the penalty for importing carfentanil, fentanyl, or fentanyl derivatives to a Class C felony. It increases time served for both the importing and the aggravated trafficking of fentanyl and related substances from a minimum of 50 percent to 85 percent. The reason for the change is due to the high risk to innocent bystanders as well as EMTs, paramedics, firefighters, and police officers when they respond to drug overdose situations.

HB 362 seeks to expand access to substance use disorder (SUD) treatment as a result of updating Casey’s Law by increasing the burden of proof. Casey’s Law was enacted in 2004 and has helped over 6,000 individuals across Kentucky. It would require health care workers who perform examinations to be subject to subpoena for the purpose of cross examination and allows an order of treatment to be issued if the court finds proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

HJR 28 is a joint resolution that directs the KY Department for Medicaid Services to request federal guidance as they try to get Medicaid to provide coverage for prescription digital therapeutics (PDT’s). PDT’s are treatments or therapies that use digital and often internet-based health technologies in fighting substance abuse and addiction to try and change patient behaviors. They are showing promising success in trials so the objective is to make them more accessible in Kentucky.

SB 56 will expand the scope of medicine that providers can use on patients when they experience an overdose by defining an opioid antagonist as naloxone or any FDA approved opioid antagonist. Previously the definition was limited to naloxone only; this will broaden the definition in statute so that any new opioid antagonists can be used as developed and approved by the FDA as they become available. Opioid antagonists reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.

The goal of all of these pieces of legislation is to increase access to prevention and treatment services in the Commonwealth. One way you can help is to share the website findhelpnowky.org or the number 1-833-8KY-HELP with anyone you know that might be seeking or need help. The hotline can provide information on a variety of services and help identify the best next step towards recovery.

I hope you and yours had a blessed 4th of July!

On a personal note, both my parents entered Hospice care over the past week. Prayers are still much appreciated.

As always, I welcome your comments and concerns on any issue and can be reached, regardless of if in session or not, through the toll-free message line in Frankfort at-1-800-372-7181, at 502-564-8100, Ext. 59010, or via email at [email protected]

Please follow me on Facebook @melindagibbonsprunty. You can also keep track of committee meetings and potential legislation by visiting our website at https://legislature.ky.gov and watch both live and recorded meetings on YouTube at KY LRC Committee Meetings or on Kentucky Educational Television at https://ket.org/legislature.

Note: Representative Melinda Gibbons Prunty represents the 15th House District. She is Vice-Chair of both the Health & Family Services Committee and the Budget Review Sub-Committee on Health & Family Services. She serves on the Appropriations & Revenue, Education, and Natural Resources & Energy Committees as well as Medicaid Oversight & Advisory and the Kentucky Colon Cancer Screening & Prevention Advisory Committee.