Schor Bill Addressing Opioid Abuse Epidemic Clears House Committee

LANSING — The House Committee on Health Policy today passed state Rep. Andy Schor’s (D-Lansing) House Bill 4403, which would clarify that Medicaid dollars can be used to pay for medical detoxification and inpatient treatment for people struggling with opioid addiction.

“The opioid abuse and addiction hits every community in Michigan,” said Schor. “It’s my hope that we can make a real difference for the families and communities around the state struggling with this issue.”

HB 4403 was part of a larger, bipartisan, six-bill package all voted out of the House Committee on Health Policy. Many of the bills follow the recommendations put out by Gov. Rick Snyder’s Michigan Prescription Drug and Opioid Abuse Task Force, on which Rep. Schor served. The bills range in scope from regulation of pain management clinics and allowing pharmacists to refuse prescriptions to requiring schools to educate students on the dangers of prescription opioids and requiring parental consent for minors to receive opioid prescriptions.

Schor said, “We learned so much about the scope and range of the issue on the Task Force. We knew there would be no magic bullet, and that we’d need a lot of different policy changes. I’m happy to be a part of this and work with my colleagues to try and get ahead of the opioid issue in Michigan.”

Rep. Schor’s bill clarifies that Medicaid can be used to pay for medically supervised detoxification and inpatient treatment when medically appropriate for a given patient. Many people struggling with opioid addiction have burned a lot of bridges with friends and family and struggle to maintain a job causing them to end up on Medicaid for their medical needs. Continued Schor, “We know that when someone reaches out for help we have a small window of opportunity to get them on the path to recovery. Many people need the safety provided by these medically supervised treatments. Research shows that with appropriate treatment the success rates for people improve. My bill should help people get the treatment they need to succeed.”