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Tags Posts tagged with "MOUD"

MOUD

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Pennsylvania will receive more than $83 million from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) in State Opioid Response (SOR) grant funding, which provides critical resources to states and Tribal communities to address the overdose crisis through prevention, opioid overdose reversal medications, treatment (including medications for opioid use disorder [MOUD]) and recovery support. On Monday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through SAMHSA, announced a total allocation of more than $1.5 billion in Fiscal Year 2025 continuation funding for SOR and Tribal Opioid Response (TOR) grants, with $1.48 billion committed to SOR and nearly $63 million committed to TOR.

This most recent round of funding is the second year of the three-year SOR IV grant cycle, which began October 1, 2024, and runs through September 30, 2027. The Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP) manages and distributes SOR funding, which comprises a significant percentage of DDAP’s annual budget.

Since the SOR program began in 2018, states report that nearly 1.3 million people have received treatment services, including more than 650,000 who received MOUD. Through the SOR program, nearly 1.5 million people have received recovery support services. SAMHSA grantees reported distributing more than 10 million opioid overdose reversal kits, with opioid overdose reversal medications being used to reverse more than 550,000 overdoses. Since the TOR program began in 2018, Tribes report that approximately 16,500 patients have received treatment services, and SAMHSA grantees reported distributing more than 116,500 naloxone kits, with opioid reversal medications being used to reverse more than 1,750 overdoses.

Read SAMHA’s press release.

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The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is hosting an in-person workshop “Implementing the Revised 42 CFR Part 8 Regulations in Opioid Treatment Programs,” from 8:00 am – 5:00 pm on Tuesday, August 12 at the Penn Harris Hotel in Camp Hill, PA. Register online by Friday, August 8.

This full-day, in-person workshop will review the revised federal regulations for opioid treatment programs (OTP) and provide practical guidance for implementation. Topics will include:

  • Overview of the 42 CFR Part 8 updates;
  • FDA-approved medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD);
  • Practitioner discretion in care delivery; and
  • Screening, admission, and assessment protocols.

Who should attend: Clinical, counseling, and administrative OTP staff

Continuing education: Eligible participants will receive a certificate for 8 CME/CEU credits (practitioners, nurses, social workers, and other healthcare providers).

If you have any questions, please send them electronically.

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The Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP) has issued Information Bulletin 01-2024, reminding single county authorities (SCA) and residential treatment providers about obligations regarding individuals on high doses of medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD). It emphasizes adherence to Part 4.04 of the Case Management and Clinical Services Manual and relevant licensure standards. It states that SCAs must ensure providers do not exclude individuals using MOUD and that treatment is individualized without restrictions. Providers may lose funds for restricting admission based on medication use. For additional questions, treatment providers can contact the Bureau of Program Licensure, and SCAs can contact the Treatment Division.

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Gov. Wolf today signed into law two bills with major significance to the commonwealth’s efforts to address the addiction and overdose death epidemic.

Act 146 is a wide-ranging statute that includes language making medications to treat opioid use disorder (MOUD) available without prior authorization through commercial insurers and Medicaid managed care organizations (MCOs). Act 111 amends the Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act to explicitly exclude fentanyl test strips from the definition of drug paraphernalia, effectively legalizing them.

Act 146

Act 146 puts into statute a 2018 agreement Gov. Wolf brokered with commercial insurance companies and a Department of Human Services’ directive to Medicaid MCOs that ensured Pennsylvanians had unrestricted access to MOUD when they need it. The new law specifically reads:

Section 2157.  Medication-Assisted Treatment.

(A) Minimum Requirement — An insurer or MA or CHIP managed care plan shall make available coverage of at least one prescription drug approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for use in Medication-Assisted Treatment for opioid use disorders, including coverage of at least one of each of the following without prior authorization:
(1)  Buprenorphine/naloxone prescription drug combination product.
(2)  Injectable and oral naltrexone.
(3)  Methadone.

(B)  Coverage and Cost Tier — If a Medication-Assisted Treatment prescription drug set forth in Subsection (A) is covered as a pharmacy benefit, then the insurer or MA or CHIP managed care plan shall cover the prescription drug on the lowest nonpreventative cost tier of the health insurance policy or MA or CHIP managed care plan.

Subsection (B) requires payers to make the medications outlined in Subsection (A) available at the lowest cost share for non-preventative drugs.

Earlier versions of the bill included language that prevented prior authorization only for the initial treatment or prescription but did not preclude subsequent prior authorizations. Additionally, earlier language also limited the prior authorization waiver to only one drug used to treat OUD. RCPA worked with House leadership and other stakeholders to negotiate broader, more expansive language.

Sen. Kristin Phillips-Hill sponsored the legislation.

Act 111

Act 111 goes beyond fentanyl test strips and excludes from the definition of drug paraphernalia any “testing products used for personal use in determining whether a controlled substance contains chemicals, toxic substances or hazardous compounds in quantities which can cause physical harm or death.”

Over the last few years, more legislation and public health policy aimed at reducing the harm associated with drug use has been introduced and adopted, marking a significant shift in attitudes toward and acceptance of harm reduction.

Rep. Jim Struzzi sponsored the legislation.

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