April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.
CATHOLIC CHARITIES TESTIMONY
Here's how to stop N.Y.'s opioid crisis
Here's how to stop N.Y.'s opioid crisis
The state's heroin crisis is a serious problem, with no easy solution. Otherwise, this crisis would have been eradicated already. On behalf of my colleagues at the council, I would like to offer some suggestions to the task force.
1. The supply of opioids needs to be reduced dramatically. The length of prescriptions for certain drugs and certain medical ailments/procedures needs to be changed. Opiates are being prescribed for non-invasive medical procedures for durations that are too long and lead to unused medications being left in the medicine cabinet or, worse, needlessly consumed, which can be a gateway to addiction.
Three stories illustrate the danger of needless over-prescribing:
* A colleague of mine was recently prescribed a 30-day prescription for OxyContin for pain related to an infected tooth. That was about 28 and a half days too many, because the pain was short-lived. Those pills ended up in his medicine cabinet until a drug-return day was available in his community.
* A young lady, over spring break from college, had her wisdom teeth extracted. She was given 24 Hydrocodone pills. The prescription called for as many as six pills a day! Her parents monitored her pain and limited her use of the medication. Six pills a day is simply too much. The young lady, had she followed the prescription, could have been on the road to addiction.
* A middle-aged man was prescribed a 30-day supply of an opiate medication for a kidney stone. Having a kidney stone can require pain medication -- but a 30-day supply? It would be the rare kidney stone, indeed, that lingered that long without further medical intervention.
Limit the duration of prescription opiates in these types and other types of procedures to no more than three to seven days. If non-invasive procedures procedures produce lasting pain, a follow-up visit to the doctor/dentist is warranted.
Last month, on behalf of Catholic Charities, Bishop Emeritus Howard J. Hubbard of Albany appeared at a press conference with U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, endorsing her federal bipartisan bill to set guidelines for prescribing opiates. Until such federal action is taken, we urge the State Legislature or the Department of Health to act.
2. There must be a greater emphasis on prevention. Basic information must be provided to our school-aged children and their parents. Catholic Charities provides successful school-based prevention programs in many areas of the state. I recommend the task force identify these programs and provide additional funding so they can expand into other school districts.
3. Disposing of unused prescription drugs is another way of limiting the supply. Often, people don't dispose of prescription opioids because they don't know how, or because following recommended procedures is burdensome. We need to make it routine for parents and grandparents to dispose of unused medications from our medicine cabinets.
4. Accessibility and affordability to drug treatment and counseling is needed. The state's substance use disorder treatment system is not conducive to many families in need of these critical services getting help. The stigma of having to go to an inner-city treatment facility is an obstacle for many middle-income families. Insurance coverage continues to be an obstacle. The insurance industry needs to stop saying no to inpatient treatment until someone has failed in an outpatient setting. Promoting failure in outpatient treatment before authorizing inpatient treatment is wrongheaded and deadly. The state needs to do a better job of making treatment available for everyone.
5. Additional resources are needed to combat this problem. The provider community is struggling to stay open. Reimbursements are not keeping up with the cost of doing business. The human services provider community has gone years without a real cost of living adjustment.
With all the deferrals in prior year COLAs, the human services community is $500 million behind in reimbursements. This year's 0.2-percent COLA will cost the state more to process and only provide very minimal resources to not-for-profits who need additional dollars. We are now facing an increase in the minimum wage, and we are worried that rates and fees will not be adjusted in a timely manner. This will require providers who are operating on the margin to absorb these new costs. And with managed care, reimbursements are always at risk.
Furthermore, the Obama administration is about to issue final regulations amending the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which will drive up the cost of doing business without any resources to support its new overtime rules.
Catholic Charities is there to serve. If you go to the New York State Catholic Conference's website, you will see the wide range of substance use disorder prevention and treatment services we provide in all eight dioceses of the state. Whether it is the increasing use of Suboxone in Western New York clinics, transitional housing in Central New York, residential treatment in the Capital Region or outpatient and prevention services in the Hudson Valley and downstate regions, Catholic Charities stands ready to continue to offer services throughout this state.
6. Finally, listen to people who are in recovery as you develop your action plan. The recovery community seems to be missing from the Task Force's membership. Recovery comes in all shapes and sizes and does not happen the same way for everyone. Who better to learn from than someone who has been addicted to heroin or other opiates and has found recovery?
If you want to fix this problem, you need to commit ongoing resources to the provider community and make treatment accessible to anyone in need of services. We pray this task force makes an impact on the terrible crisis facing our state.[[In-content Ad]]
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