Indiana, along with the entire country, is in the middle of an opioid epidemic, with heroin and prescription painkillers damaging too many lives and communities across the state.
State Senator Randy Head said, “Indiana Senate Republicans are attacking this problem with a three-pronged approach of prevention, treatment and recovery.” Here are some of the bills moving through the General Assembly this year to attach the issues:
- Senate Bill 226 would prohibit doctors from prescribing more than a seven-day supply of opioids to most patients if it’s their first opioid prescription with the doctor.
- Senate Bill 151 and Senate Bill 408 would work together to prevent opioid users from “doctor shopping” for multiple opioid prescriptions by improving the state’s INSPECT prescription-tracking program.
- Senate Bill 243 and Senate Bill 446 would expand access to treatment for pregnant women struggling with opioid addiction by establishing a grant to fund hospital-based treatment programs and creating a pilot program to fund residential addiction treatment.
- Senate Bill 59 would allow out-of-state psychologists, mental-health counselors, addiction counselors and social workers to receive a temporary Indiana license to practice in the state if they have practiced for at least five years in another state without any disciplinary issues.
Senator Head said, “It’s my hope these bills will further attack the opioid problem in our state and help people rebuild their lives.”
