Amendment #24, as changed to H4725

Access to Medication Assisted Treatment in Correctional Facilities

Representatives O'Day of West Boylston, Malia of Boston, Hill of Ipswich, Scibak of South Hadley, Khan of Newton, Balser of Newton, Rushing of Boston, Kaufman of Lexington, Tucker of Salem and Ferrante of Gloucester move to amend the bill by striking the amendment in its entirety and inserting in place thereof the following:-

in subsection (a) of section 78 by inserting after the definition of “Medication-assisted treatment” the following definition:--

“Qualified addiction specialist,” a treatment provider who is a physician licensed by the board of registration of medicine, a licensed advanced practice registered nurse or a licensed physician assistant, and who has a minimum of 6 months experience treating individuals with substance use disorder or is a licensed DATA-waiver practitioner under the federal Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016, Public Law 114-198.

And further moves to amend subsection (b) of said section 78, by striking out, in line 810, the words “two state prisons for participation in the pilot program.” and inserting in place thereof the following:- six state prisons for participation in the pilot program; provided however, that all selected facilities shall make such treatment available to inmates who were receiving medication for opioid addiction immediately preceding incarceration; provided further, that three of the facilities selected shall be required to make such treatment available to eligible inmates who were not receiving medication for opioid addiction immediately preceding incarceration; provided further, that the Massachusetts Alcohol and Substance Abuse Center shall be selected as one of the three facilities required to make treatment available to eligible inmates who were not receiving medication for opioid addiction immediately preceding incarceration.

And further moves to amend said section 78 by inserting, in line 820, after the words “treating provider”, the following:- who shall be a qualified addiction specialist,;

And further moves to amend said section 78 by inserting, in line 821, after the words “necessary.”, the following:- Facilities selected to make medication-assisted treatment available to eligible inmates who were not receiving medication for opioid addiction immediately preceding incarceration shall make such treatment available to any person for whom such treatment is determined to be medically appropriate by a qualified addiction specialist.