Springfield, IL - State leaders are trying to find ways to solve the opioid epidemic. The Senate Special Committee on Opioid Crisis Abatement heard an update Tuesday morning on the state's opioid action plan. Members of the committee say they want solutions and more access to opioid prevention, treatment and recovery. The group discussed expansion of mental health services with the Department of Insurance and overdose reporting with Illinois State Police.
Illinois Department of Insurance Health Insurance Policy Advisor Kate Morthland says staff is proactively working with insurance companies to monitor and reduce the prescription of opioids. The Department also focused on updating the "benchmark plan" to address the crisis. This plan includes a minimum scope of benefits most Illinois health insurers must cover. Morthland says the Affordable Care Act created a broad framework for essential health benefits, but left the details up to each state. The Federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced states only had until July 2, 2018 to change their benchmark plan to be effective for plan year 2020.
"DOI anticipated those changes in February of 2018 and secured approval from the governor's office to pursue changing the benchmark plan to address the opioid crisis," Morthland explained. "Illinois was the only state in the nation to meet that extremely short deadline."
The Department revised their benchmark plan using public recommendations. Morthland says residents asked for better coverage of alternative therapies for chronic pain, improved prescription of opioids, and expanded access to mental health and substance abuse treatment. She says the Department is currently looking for grant funding to track the success of these benchmark changes. Morthland added this information could provide critical metrics to measure success and future opportunities. However, this data won't be available until the start of next year as the new benchmark wasn't implemented until January 1.
Reporting in "real time"
One of the recommendations Illinois State Police mentioned would update the prescription drug monitoring program. This program is used by first responders and medical providers to respond to spikes in overdose. Currently, there is a 24 hour delay before the information is available online. Police say the delay should be reduced to help all parties involved.
"The prescription monitoring program allows for real time as well as state-to-state that we can see in real time. I think that would reduce the shopping from different pharmacies to sellers," said Major Troy Phillips.
There is currently a plan in the Senate that would require the prescription information to be reported by the end of each business day. That proposal already passed out of the House last Spring.
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February 26, 2020 at 07:48AM
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Lawmakers hear update on Illinois' opioid crisis abatement plan - WGEM
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