FRANKFORT- A bill that would attack Kentucky’s opioid crisis through better state
substance use disorder treatment and recovery program standards has received final
passage in the Kentucky House.
House Bill 124, sponsored by House Health and Family Services Committee Chair Rep.
Addia Wuchner, R-Florence, and Rep. Kimberly Poore Moser, R-Taylor Mill, would
require enhanced licensure and quality standards for substance use disorder
treatment and recovery after a state review of current statewide standards, subject
to available funding. Enhanced standards would cover residential, outpatient and
medication-assisted treatment (MAT) services, according to the bill.
Wuchner said she has traveled the state visiting treatment and recovery centers and
found that some programs have “a lot of dynamics and a lot of differences.”
“That doesn’t mean that every program has to be the same, but there should be
components of that program that are consistent with best practices,” said Wuchner.
HB 124 was amended in the Senate on a 36-0 vote late last week to include
FDA-approved MAT treatment for inmates who are opioid-dependent or who have other
substance abuse disorders.
“As some of those products that are used for medically-assisted treatment come to
market and come to bear, there are more products now that could be used in the
corrections environment that minimize diversion, and that’s why this piece was
added,” said Wuchner.
HB 124 received final passage in the House today on a vote of 93-0. The bill was
initially passed in the House on an 85-2 vote in January.