Section 17C: Re-entry treatment plan for state detainee or prisoner requiring treatment for opioid use disorder
Section 17C. The commissioner shall ensure that, not later than 120 days prior to the expected discharge date of a state detainee or prisoner serving a sentence to a state prison, a state detainee or prisoner shall have access to a qualified addiction specialist who shall conduct an assessment of the state detainee or prisoner. Upon a determination by the qualified addiction specialist that the state detainee or prisoner requires treatment for opioid use disorder, the qualified addiction specialist shall establish a medically appropriate re-entry treatment plan for the state detainee or prisoner, which may include, but shall not be limited to, medication-assisted treatment during the final 90 days of incarceration; provided, however, that if medication-assisted treatment is included in a re-entry treatment plan, such treatment plan shall be provided to the state detainee or prisoner at a facility included in section 17B. A re-entry treatment plan may include any treatment upon discharge that the qualified addiction specialist shall recommend and deem appropriate, which may include, but shall not be limited to, all drugs approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration for use in medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder. A re-entry treatment plan shall ensure that a state detainee or prisoner is directly connected to an appropriate provider or treatment site in the geographic region to which the state detainee or prisoner shall reside upon release. The commissioner shall further ensure that, for a state detainee or prisoner with a re-entry treatment plan under this section, the facility shall request reinstatement or apply for MassHealth benefits for the state detainee or prisoner at least 30 days prior to release.
The re-entry treatment plan shall be forwarded to the parole board and may be incorporated into any treatment plan included within the terms and conditions of parole.