Meridian Care Leaders Back Addiction Treatment Bills
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Two bills legislators in Columbus are studying were supported by testimony from representatives of Meridian Community Care during recent committee hearings, the agency reports.
Larry Moliterno, president and CEO, testified Jan. 8 before the House Health and Aging Committee on behalf of the Ohio Alliance of Recovery Providers. OARP, of which Moliterno is chairman, is a statewide alliance of treatment and prevention providers.
Moliterno spoke in behalf of HB 369, which is designed to ensure a continuum of care for those suffering from addiction. In his testimony, Moliterno hailed the measure as “a transformative approach aimed at ensuring access for all Ohioans to the array of treatment and supportive services that are vital to recovery …. Success in this endeavor requires an integrated approach to treatment that includes detox, residential and outpatient treatment, medication assisted treatment, case management, peer support and supportive housing,” he said.
"We must have a system in Ohio that ensures that a person’s access to recovery is only bound by their individual desire to get well, not by bureaucratic red tape, territorial in-fighting or insurance appeals,” Moliterno observed.
Dr. Dan Brown, medical director at Meridian Community Care, testified Jan. 14 before the Opiate Addiction Treatment & Reform Subcommittee of the House Health & Aging Committee in support of HB 378. This bill would prohibit Ohio physicians from prescribing or personally furnishing various drugs (such as methadone and suboxone) to treat opioid dependence or addiction unless the patient is receiving appropriate behavioral counseling or treatment.
“HB 378 will help to stop these detrimental practices by ensuring that no patients can receive a prescription for buprenorphine (suboxone), methadone or naltrexone unless they are actively involved in behavioral treatment, as well,” Brown stated.
In a move he said would “make a good bill better,” Brown joined OARP in recommending that a provision be added “to require that the ‘behavioral counseling or treatment’ be given by a provider certified by the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services. This change is intended to ensure each patient gets the appropriate treatment while also meeting the certification standards.
SOURCE: Meridian Community Care
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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