COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown wants to combat a rise in the abuse of prescription pain relievers, heroin and other opiates with a change to federal law he says will make it easier for addicts to get treatment.
Saying that the abuse of drugs like oxycodone and heroin are “wreaking havoc” in Ohio, Brown announced his support for the Recovery Enhancement for Addiction Treatment (TREAT) Act, which would change federal law to make it easier for more health care providers to treat larger numbers of people suffering from opioid addiction.
“Americans all across the country have been affected by the growing public health crisis caused by opioid use,” Brown said. “This is a complex scourge that requires a multi-pronged solution. We’ve got a problem when it’s easier for Americans to get heroin than it is for them to get help to break their addiction. That is why we must give patients greater access to drug addiction treatment.”
Deaths from opiate overdoses in the U.S. has increased more than five times since 1980, Brown said. Opiate overdoses killed 1,914 Ohioans in 2012, he said.
Under current law, physicians must meet specific conditions and apply for a special waiver in order to prescribe certain medicines which help patients fight opiate addiction. During their first year after receiving the waiver, doctors are only allowed to treat 30 patients and only 100 patients per year afterwards. Brown says this has led to long waits for treatment and has made it more difficult for addicts to get treatment.
As a result, fewer than 40 percent of the approximately 2.5 million Americans who abused or were dependent on opioids in 2012, got medication-assisted therapy, Brown said.
The legislation would increase the number of patients providers are initially allowed to treat during their first year of certification for treatment, allow them to ask the limit be dropped after one year and allow certain nurse practitioners and physician assistants to treat up to 100 patients per year.