“This is very important because it involves removing barriers to the most effective and cost-effective medications,” Cicacarone said. “Prior authorization is a barrier at the clinical level, providing enough frustration to the physician and patient to impair care.”
Two other bills would increase access to medications that can instantly reverse an opioid overdose. AB 1976 would require businesses to carry naloxone nasal spray in their first aid kits by July 2027. AB 1841 would provide two doses of naloxone to residential counselors at California public universities. Both were approved unanimously in the Assembly and are now before the Senate.
California lawmakers are considering aligning the state with new federal methadone regulations under AB 2115. The bill would allow patients to take more doses of methadone home at a time and allow more professionals to prescribe the medication.
“We have a carryover model, which is much stricter than what the federal government now requires,” said Keith Humphreys, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University. “It’s a good idea because it’s a treatment that is in short supply and helps a lot of people.”
Other bills targeting the use of fentanyl are listed below. Many are part of the Safer California Plan, a package of state Senate bills designed to address fentanyl use.
These bills:
- AB 2429: Expand mandatory health education in high school to include information about the dangers associated with fentanyl use.
- AB 2136: Prevent police from arresting someone who voluntarily allowed harm reduction service providers to search their drugs.
- SB 997: Allow middle and high school students to carry naloxone, and would require middle and high schools to stock and distribute fentanyl test strips.
- SB 908: Require the state health department to identify fentanyl-related deaths of children ages 0-5.
- SB 1319: Expedite the approval process for nursing homes to add behavioral health programs.
- SB 1442: Establish pathways for the state to fund and distribute fentanyl testing to health care providers.
- SB 1468: Educate and encourage providers to dispense a three-day supply of narcotic medications to initiate detoxification treatment or maintenance treatment for people who use opioids.
- SB 909: Eliminate some loan payments for doctors who agree to provide direct care to patients in an underserved area for three years.
- SB 910: Improve programming, drug testing and medication-assisted treatment for people going through the criminal justice system with new state standards.
Ciccarone said that while the package of laws is a good step forward, the state is still playing catch-up. “Ten years ago we should have addressed issues like prior authorization,” he said.
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