* Far too many — nearly 3,500 last year alone — have been lost already. Now is the time to act on legislators’ proposals or those Mr. Wolf has advanced to address the crisis.
* All the more reason to get started now. Legislative work should not be posponed until the next legislative session in January. If they act now, legislators will look back one day and be happy that they did.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Act now: Lawmakers still have time to address opioid crisis
By the Editorial Board – September 30, 2016
State lawmakers should use the few remaining days in the legislative calendar to pass new laws aimed at addressing the opioid epidemic. In a rare address Wednesday to a joint session of the General Assembly, Gov. Tom Wolf stressed the possibility of accomplishing much if members from both chambers and parties roll up their sleeves and commit to getting the job done. He was spot on. Delay means more lives lost.
Far too many — nearly 3,500 last year alone — have been lost already. Now is the time to act on legislators’ proposals or those Mr. Wolf has advanced to address the crisis.
Mr. Wolf wants prescribers to check a patient database every time they write a prescription to make sure patients haven’t been prescribed too many opioids already. He wants to cap emergency department prescriptions of opioids to a seven-day supply, a measure that would force prescribers to reevaluate a patient’s status if he or she showed up again — at a hospital or practice — seeking more painkillers. The governor wants to cap nearly all prescriptions for minors to seven days, whether patient is seen at a hospital or doctor’s office. He wants to require insurance companies to cover new addiction prevention measures.
Sen. Gene Yaw, R-Lycoming, has cautioned that it many take years for any measures to take root and reduce opioid deaths. All the more reason to get started now. Legislative work should not be posponed until the next legislative session in January. If they act now, legislators will look back one day and be happy that they did.