Video & Transcript Research : 'opioids'
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AZ
Arizona 2026 Regular Session
03/18/2026 - Senate Health and Human Services
Health and Human Services
Transcript Highlights:
- So the bill's mechanism, by tying non-opioid utilization controls to the least restrictive opioid standard
- We agree that opioids should never be over-utilized.
- We agree that opioids should never be over-utilized.
- The current non-opioids we cover cost $10, whereas this new non-opioid, Drenavics, costs around $360.
- Opioids are not a part of my story.
Keywords:
orders of protection, domestic violence, court procedures, legal guardian, enforcement, healthcare, licensed health aides, scope of practice, ventilator care, training standards, medical freedom, healthcare mandates, employment requirements, public health, government regulation, elderly, physical disabilities, Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, home and community based services, funding increase
Summary:
The committee first heard a presentation from Central Arizona Shelter Services (CASS) on homelessness in Maricopa County and CASS programs for single adults, families, and older adults. The witness described rising homelessness, especially among older adults, and said recent declines were linked to American Rescue Plan Act funding for shelters and flexible rental assistance. Members asked about CASS partnerships with mutual aid and service organizations; the witness described collaborations for food, banking, haircuts, digital access, and behavioral health. No vote was taken on this presentation.
The committee then considered HB 2248, the Arizona Medical Freedom Act, which would bar businesses, schools, and government entities from denying services or employment based on medical interventions and limit employer medical requirements, with a school outbreak amendment adopted. Proponents framed the bill as protecting bodily autonomy and informed consent, while opponents argued it would weaken employers’ ability to control communicable diseases and protect public health. The committee adopted the amendment and advanced the bill on a 4-3 vote. It also advanced HB 2906, requiring one oral and maxillofacial surgeon on the State Board of Dental Examiners, and HB 2189, directing the Nursing Board to implement rules for licensed health aides performing routine ventilator care; both passed with amendments and strong support from sponsors and board representatives.
Later, the committee approved HB 2403, appropriating $2.5 million in FY2027 for home- and community-based services providers serving elderly and physically disabled Arizonans. Supporters said the funding would help retain caregivers and reduce more expensive hospital or facility care. The committee also passed several continuation bills, including HB 2731 for the Physician Assistants Board, HB 2730 for the Occupational Therapy Board, and HB 2729 for the Nursing Board, all on largely party-line or near-unanimous votes after testimony from board staff emphasizing public protection and oversight.
The committee then took up HB 2728, a DES continuation bill that also incorporated nine previously vetoed policy bills affecting SNAP, unemployment, and related benefits. Opponents argued it would make access to essential benefits harder and turn a routine continuation bill into a vehicle for controversial policy changes; supporters said it was needed for oversight and program integrity. The bill advanced on a 4-3 vote. Finally, the committee approved HB 2048, a strike-everything amendment requiring AHCCCS to treat a new non-opioid pain medication no more restrictively than opioids in utilization controls, and ACR 2058, which would require a comprehensive Medicaid claims audit funded by recoveries. Both measures drew support from sponsors and some personal testimony, while opponents warned about cost, duplication of oversight, and incentives that could bias audits; each advanced on 4-3 votes. The committee then adjourned.
MN
Minnesota 2025 1st Special Session
House health panel approves HF1379 3/10/25
Minnesota House Floor Meeting
Transcript Highlights:
- It's about authorizing and telling your provider, I don't want to have an opioid.
- , if we can at all avoid this, there's other things they can take instead of an opioid.
- I saw clients sent out for dental work only to return with an opioid prescription in hand. opioids if
- supported individuals with severe opioid supported individuals with severe opioid use<00:05:17.320
- prescribed or administered opioids without their express consent.
CO
Colorado 2026 Regular Session
Colorado Senate 2026 Legislative Day 094 Apr 18th, 2026
Colorado Senate Floor Meeting
Transcript Highlights:
- to opioid pain medications. to opioid pain medications.
- properties that opioids have. properties that opioids have.
- Nonopioids and opioids should opioids.
- opioid option. opioid option. >> Senator<01:00:11.280>
Amab. - To opioid addiction.
Summary:
The Senate convened with a quorum, approved the previous day’s journal, and received a long list of bill status reports and enrollments. It also introduced Senate Bill 168, concerning reporting of money handled by legislative caucuses, and Senate Bill 169, a non-substantive revision bill for the Colorado Revised Statutes. The chamber then agreed to proceed out of order for moments of personal privilege and recognized the Denver and Colorado Springs chapters of The Links, Incorporated for Lynx Day at the Capitol.
The Senate next took up a special-order consent calendar containing House Bill 1110, Senate Bill 78, and Senate Bill 151. All three committee reports and the bills themselves were adopted without objection, and the Committee of the Whole report was later adopted by a 35-0 vote. As reported, Senate Bill 78 was amended, Senate Bill 151 passed second reading and was ordered engrossed, and House Bill 1110 was amended, passed second reading, and ordered revised for third reading and final passage.
The chamber then moved to special orders on Senate Bill 6 and Senate Bill 15, and the transcript focuses mainly on Senate Bill 6, which would require health insurers to offer at least one non-opioid pain medication option. Supporters argued the bill would expand access to safer pain-management alternatives, reduce opioid addiction, and encourage innovation; several members shared personal or professional experiences with opioid harms. Opponents argued the bill would mandate newer, more expensive drugs when less costly alternatives already exist and could raise health care costs. The debate continued in the excerpt, but no final vote on Senate Bill 6 is shown here.
NH
New Hampshire 2026 Regular Session
Health and Human Services Oversight Committee (01/23/2026)
Transcript Highlights:
- component of the opioid epidemic. component of the opioid epidemic.
- acute intoxication from opioid.
- opioid uh disorder. opioid uh disorder.
- <00:52:39.440>
You the opioid abatement trust fund. You the opioid abatement trust fund. - <00:56:19.200>
So, from opioid overdoses last year. So, from opioid overdoses last year.
Summary:
The committee met on January 23, 2026, to approve prior minutes and receive an update from the Department of Health and Human Services. The main presentation focused on “Project Compass,” an internal cross-department effort to prepare for changes to Medicaid and SNAP eligibility. Department staff said the goal is to maintain continuous coverage for eligible people, align policy, operations, communications, legal, finance, and eligibility work, and use the new integrated New HEIGHTS system to streamline implementation. They emphasized outreach to beneficiaries, providers, managed care organizations, and other partners, and said temporary manual workarounds had already been used to stay in compliance with fast-moving SNAP changes.
Members questioned how the department would avoid repeating the costly outreach effort used in a prior Medicaid work-requirement rollout. Department officials said they are focusing on ex parte processes, sharing eligibility information across programs, and using community partners to reduce duplicate contacts and paperwork. They also said the department is monitoring the SNAP error rate closely, expects automation and a planned system contract amendment to help reduce it, and noted that current error rates are trending downward and remain below the national average. Questions were also raised about possible future SNAP restrictions on certain foods; the department said it can implement whatever the legislature directs, but that defining and administering such restrictions would be complex.
The commissioner and CFO then outlined the department’s budget reduction plan. They said the department has begun implementing required “back of the budget” reductions for fiscal year 2026, using contract savings and not cutting existing services where possible. Examples included dental and home-visitation contracts, where spending was adjusted based on utilization and projected need. Officials said they had already written down a little over $15 million in prior-year encumbrances, but that this one-time source will not be available next year, making fiscal year 2027 more difficult. They also explained the difference between legally required back-of-budget cuts and lapse, and said staffing remains a major challenge because vacancies have increased and customer-facing service levels are strained.
Dr. Jonathan Ballard then began an update on opioid overdose fatalities, presenting the latest medical examiner data and describing the long-term rise in deaths after fentanyl entered the illicit drug supply, with a peak in 2017 and a later increase in 2022. The transcript cuts off before his full presentation and any further committee action beyond discussion of the minutes and receipt of the department updates.
FL
Florida 2025 Regular Session
Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services Mar 18th, 2025
Transcript Highlights:
- WE'RE NOT FINDING OPIOID ABUSE IN EMERGENCY SITUATIONS.
- THE ADDICTION COMES LATER WHEN YOU HAVE MORE OPIOIDS THAN YOU NEED OR MORE OPIOIDS THEN YOU SHOULD READ
- THOSE WERE OPIOIDS AND SHE FUNCTIONED VERY WELL AT HOME.
- 100 PEOPLE THAT HAVE NOT BEEN GIVEN AN OPIOID SAVE FOR SURGERY GO ON TO HAVE A PRESCRIBED OPIOID USE,
- SO THERE IS DEFINITELY A RULE AND THERE'S ALL KINDS OF OPIOIDS AND THE OPIOID ALTERNATIVES MAY NOT CUT
MN
Minnesota 2025 1st Special Session
House Judiciary Finance and Civil Law Committee 3/20/25
Judiciary Finance and Civil Law
Transcript Highlights:
- <00:05:10.400>
use to help reduce unnecessary opioid use to help reduce unnecessary opioid - <00:05:29.680>
un prescribed or administered an opioid un prescribed or administered an opioid - <00:14:35.720>
put practitioner don't give me opioids put practitioner don't give me opioids - <00:15:54.360>
conversation part of of of our opioid conversation part of of of our opioid - <00:48:24.000>
epidemic tool in fighting the opioid epidemic tool in fighting the opioid epidemic
Keywords:
nonopioid directive, opioid refusal, opioid-free care, pain management, health care directive, advance directive, patient autonomy, informed consent, substance use disorder, opioid epidemic, prescriber immunity, provider liability, emergency medical services, EMS, health record, Minnesota Department of Health, health care agent, medical power of attorney, Metropolitan Council, Minnesota government data practices
FL
Florida 2026 Regular Session
Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services Mar 18th, 2025
Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services
Transcript Highlights:
- We're not finding opioid abuse in emergency situations. We're certainly not finding opioid abuse.
- that see this advance directive that says no opioids, but they really need this opioid to benefit their
- It's saying you must use opioid alternatives.
- Those were opioids, and she functioned very well at home with low-dose opioids that will not meet your
- So there's definitely a role, and there's all kinds of opioids, and the opioid alternatives just may
Summary:
The committee met with a quorum and considered several health-related bills. SB 398, by Senator Burgess, would create a statewide Alzheimer’s and dementia awareness campaign through the Department of Elder Affairs, focused on early detection, brain health, risk reduction, clinical trial access, and community resources. Supporters said Florida has a large and growing Alzheimer’s population and that the campaign would help families and vulnerable communities; the bill was reported favorably after a roll call vote. The committee also adopted an amendment to SB 714, by Senator Burton, which would create non-opioid advanced directives and add liability protections for providers in medical emergencies involving opioids. Supporters framed it as a patient-choice measure, while opponents argued it was vague and could interfere with appropriate pain treatment; the amended bill was then reported favorably.
The committee also approved CS/SB 756, which removes the current age-eight diagnosis requirement for autism-related insurance coverage and extends coverage beyond age 18 for those diagnosed with autism. Senator Burton said the bill would help families whose children are diagnosed later or whose needs continue into adulthood. There was brief discussion about existing lifetime benefit caps, but the sponsor said the bill did not change those limits. The committee then took up SB 734, a proposal by Senator Yarbrough to repeal Florida’s wrongful death exception that bars certain parents and adult children from recovering non-economic damages in medical negligence cases. The sponsor and supporters described the current law as discriminatory and unjust, especially for families of older adults and disabled individuals, while opponents warned it would raise malpractice costs, increase premiums, and worsen provider shortages. The bill drew extensive public testimony from both grieving family members and health care/insurance representatives, and members debated whether caps or other safeguards should be added. No final action on SB 734 is reflected in the transcript excerpt.
NV
Nevada 2025 Regular Session
Assembly Committee on Health and Human Services May 30th, 2025 at 12:00 pm
Transcript Highlights:
- And so she asked if we could use my bill as an opportunity to do something with opioid addiction.
- lately: opioid overdose... [00:09:10.000] But we have received some good news lately.
- Our opioid overdose deaths in the United States dropped significantly in the past year.
- Our opioid overdose deaths in the United States dropped significantly in the past year.
- Opioid use disorder continues to be a public health crisis in the state that is getting worse.
KY
Kentucky 2025 Regular Session
Medicaid Oversight and Advisory Board (12-10-25)
Transcript Highlights:
- These are all reduction in opioid use.
abatement leveraged including opioid abatement leveraged including opioid abatement funds.<00- a worker who never receives opioids.
- worker who receives schedule 2 opioids worker who receives schedule 2 opioids is<00:42:17.520>
- BR 1067 is a never receives opioids.
Summary:
The Medicaid Oversight Advisory Board met with a quorum, approved the November 12 minutes by voice vote, and then heard a presentation from former Governor Ernie Fletcher and Dave Johnson on Medicaid reimbursement for substance use disorder (SUD) treatment. Fletcher argued that addiction should be treated as a chronic disease requiring a longer continuum of care, not just short residential stays, and said recovery should combine clinical treatment with social supports such as housing, transportation, employment, peer coaching, and recovery housing. He cited data on overdose trends, low treatment rates, and high costs for people with SUD, and said current reimbursement models create poor incentives and do not adequately support long-term recovery or measure outcomes well.
Fletcher proposed a “carve through” model administered at the MCO level with standardized metrics, data sharing, and an independent recovery coordinator that would assess patients, coordinate care, and connect them to clinical and social recovery services. He suggested using bundled payments, shared savings, and partial risk arrangements, with recovery housing reimbursed on a PMPM or weekly basis and funded in part through existing Medicaid spending and other sources such as opioid abatement funds. He also emphasized peer support, telemedicine, criminal justice coordination, workforce and education supports, and the use of technology, including text messaging and possibly AI, to maintain long-term follow-up and identify relapse risk.
Members questioned how the model would work in practice, especially the education and staffing requirements for recovery coordinators, reimbursement levels, and how many patients each coordinator or peer would serve. Fletcher said peers could be certified and would need additional training in assessments such as ASAM and recovery residence standards, but he did not give a precise salary figure, saying the market and bundled rates would determine that. He also said follow-up should continue for years, noting relapse risk over the first 18 to 24 months and that meaningful employment and ongoing peer contact help sustain recovery. No formal vote or action was taken on the substance use presentation.
KY
Kentucky 2026 Regular Session
Senate Standing Committee on Health Service (3-11-26)
Transcript Highlights:
- Funding will come from the opioid settlement money, which was placed in the opioid abatement trust fund
- placed opioid settlement money which was placed in<00:20:18.080>
the <00:20:18.240>opioid< - funding Senate Bill 77 from the opioid funding Senate Bill 77 from the opioid trust<00:20:59.280
- >
trust <00:21:59.200>fund that leaves the opioid trust fund that leaves the opioid trust - Part of the intent of the opioid Part of the intent of the opioid abatement<00:48:52.079>
fund
Summary:
The committee first reviewed preferred administrative regulations and, hearing no concerns, considered them reviewed. It then took up House Bill 388, described as a Casper cleanup bill. The sponsor said it would exempt charitable health care providers from e-prescribing requirements, allow Casper data sharing with certain federal entities, update references to hydrocodone’s schedule status, clean up drafting errors, and clarify practitioner registration with Casper. The bill passed 9-0 and was then approved for consent.
Next, House Bill 134 was presented as a follow-up to a prior study on shortages of sexual assault nurse examiners and SANE-ready hospitals. The sponsor and a representative from the Kentucky Association of Sexual Assault Programs said the bill would create a statewide SANE coordinator. The committee adopted a substitute, then passed the bill unanimously and sent it to consent. Senate Bill 147 was then heard as an administrative update to vital records, modernizing certified-copy requests, adjusting fees, and requiring the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to send the annual death report to the State Board of Elections by July 1 each year. It passed unanimously and was also moved to consent.
House Bill 280, a Kentucky Board of Nursing cleanup bill, would let the board investigate out-of-state nurses applying for Kentucky licenses, clarify licensing language, and update school rescue medication provisions, including inhalers, nebulizers, glucagon, Solu-Cortef, and nasal epinephrine. A committee substitute narrowed the bill to glucagon updates, and one senator asked whether the bill also covered child care centers; the sponsor said it addressed school medications only but was open to further discussion. The bill passed 10-0 and was reported favorably.
Finally, Senate Bill 77 drew extended testimony. The sponsor and supporters argued that ibogaine research and treatment could help address addiction, PTSD, and depression, citing studies, personal recovery stories, and a proposed public-private partnership funded through opioid settlement money. The committee substitute removed the bill’s appropriation request and emergency clause, and members asked questions about whether PTSD is an addiction, whether smoking was included, whether the bill was authorizing research rather than funding, and how the treatment works. The sponsor said the substitute was only creating a structure for research, not appropriating money, and supporters described ibogaine as a one-time, medically supervised treatment. The transcript cuts off before a final vote on Senate Bill 77 is shown.
AL
Alabama 2025 Regular Session
Alabama Joint Oversight Commission on Opioid Settlement Funds Mar 19th, 2025
Transcript Highlights:
- We'll get started with the committee on the Oversight Commission of Alabama's opioid settlement funds
- Yeah, these opioids have certainly had a huge impact on what they do every day.
- We want to again educate on what an opioid is, the dangers, and the alternatives.
- It's not just prescription opioids, as you all know.
- center. the dedicated opioid treatment center.
NH
New Hampshire 2025 Regular Session
Senate Health and Human Services (03/12/2025)
Health and Human Services
Transcript Highlights:
- It was an elderly person who was on small amounts of opioids.
- It was an elderly person who was on small amounts of opioids.
- This is the standard. were effective and safe on the opioid were effective and safe on the opioid side
- The opioid and nonopioid both allowed if you really wanted to go after eliminating the opioid prescribing
- <00:39:16.680>
use opioid use fight against opioid use opioid use fight against opioid use
MO
Missouri 2026 Regular Session
Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Task Force Jun 24th, 2026 at 01:00 pm
Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Task Force
MA
Massachusetts 2025-2026 Regular Session
Public Health Effects of Xylazine Jun 21st, 2026 at 12:00 pm
Transcript Highlights:
- on inpatient opioid withdrawal management, offering escalating doses of opioid withdrawal medication
- It's not an opioid.
- It's not an opioid.
- Standard protocol leads us to administer Narcan, which reverses opioid overdoses by binding to opioid
- But this does. the stern Narcan, which reverses opioid overdoses by binding to opioid receptors.
Summary:
The Special Commission on xylazine held its first meeting, with House Chair Mindy Domb and Senate Co-Chair John Keenan outlining the commission’s charge and a proposed work plan. The commission is tasked with studying the public health and safety impacts of xylazine in the illicit drug supply, including whether it should be scheduled as a controlled substance, how to regulate its production and distribution, and how to improve outreach and treatment for people exposed to it. Members were told the report deadline had been extended to March 30, 2026, and staff proposed a series of public hearings and working groups leading to a final report. The meeting also included attendance, packet materials, and procedural planning.
The first major testimony came from BSAS Director Deirdre Calvert, who described xylazine’s appearance in Massachusetts drug supply data, the state’s public health alerts, and DPH’s partnership with Brandeis, CDC, and harm reduction organizations. She emphasized four priorities: reducing stigma and discrimination in health care, expanding self-directed wound care support and coverage for supplies, expanding access to drug checking and test strips, and supporting low-barrier services such as mobile vans and drop-in centers. Commission members asked about first responder awareness, medical education, and whether harm reduction services might face federal restrictions; Calvert said misinformation remains a problem and noted ongoing training efforts, including collaboration with public safety agencies.
Several other speakers reinforced the need for low-barrier care and drug checking. Dr. Raghini Jala, an infectious disease and addiction medicine physician, said xylazine has become a common component of the unregulated opioid supply and urged support for rapid-response education teams, community-based drug checking, and better hospital and detox protocols for xylazine withdrawal and wounds. Recovery coach Alan Young testified from lived experience, describing severe wounds, fear of inadequate withdrawal treatment in emergency settings, and the value of mobile care vans that can provide methadone, buprenorphine, and wound care in the community. Dr. Sarah Wakeman echoed the need for naloxone, rescue breathing, low-threshold treatment, and non-stigmatizing health care settings, while Sarah Macon of the Boston Public Health Commission described Boston’s harm reduction and drug checking work, including on-site testing, wound care, and a decline in opioid mortality. Tracy Green of the Massachusetts Drug Supply Data Stream explained that xylazine has declined in recent samples while metatomidine is rising, said drug checking is increasingly used but still not enough, and argued for more funding, staffing, and statewide access to real-time drug checking and harm reduction services.
MN
Minnesota 2025-2026 Regular Session
House Health Finance and Policy Committee 2/25/26 - Part 1
Health Finance and Policy
Transcript Highlights:
- as they do for opioids.
- opioid overdoses in 2024 as well.
- Again, we can go and break down how much per day this would cost. opioid options while opioids are opioid
- of the OUD, that's opioid use disorder. of the OUD, that's opioid use disorder.
- the US opioid epidemic, which is now the US opioid epidemic, which is now dominated<00:30:36.480>
Keywords:
hospital moratorium, hospital construction, bed capacity, hospital expansion, health care facilities, hospital licensing, safety-net hospital, level I trauma center, Ramsey County, Minnesota health law, hospital beds, new hospital exception, certificate of need, inpatient capacity, emergency care, trauma services, health system regulation, state moratorium, hospital modernization, health infrastructure
MO
Missouri 2026 Regular Session
Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Task Force Jun 24th, 2026
Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Task Force
Transcript Highlights:
- Okay, so opioids. Incredibly sick from their use. Okay, so opioids.
- And we have not seen that yet in the opioid market.
- We can't give them opioids.'
- He's talking about being completely off of opioids.
- There's a... ...of opioids.
Summary:
The task force meeting opened with new leadership announcements, including Senator Nick Schroer thanking outgoing chair Representative John Black and naming Representative Del Taylor as vice chair. After some initial technical difficulties with audio and Zoom, members reviewed the task force’s statutory charge under Missouri law: to hold hearings on substance use, explore solutions, draft or modify legislation, and produce recommendations for prevention and treatment. The chair said the goal for this year is to develop concrete legislative ideas for the next session, with hearings focused first on field experts and later on alternative therapies and the Department of Mental Health.
Dr. Rachel Winograd gave the first major presentation, describing Missouri’s overdose crisis as increasingly complex and driven primarily by fentanyl, now compounded by xylazine and metatomidine. She said overdose deaths have declined for a third straight year, with preliminary 2025 data around 1,200 deaths, and attributed the decline to a smaller fentanyl supply, wider naloxone availability, and fewer young people entering use. Her main recommendations were to focus on reducing harm rather than trying to eliminate drug use, expand evidence-based medications for opioid use disorder—especially methadone and buprenorphine—improve access to naloxone, and loosen methadone regulations, including take-home doses, the federal 72-hour rule, and broader methadone units. She also emphasized that peer support, housing, transportation, and other practical supports matter, and noted that naloxone can still reverse fentanyl overdoses even when tranquilizers are present.
Dr. Heidi Miller, the state medical director, followed with two recommendations: integrate substance use disorder care into whole-person health care and follow the science when considering substance-related legislation. She argued that primary care, maternal health, workforce training, EMS, public health, and methadone access should all be part of a coordinated model, and said reimbursement should support teams rather than isolated providers. She also urged stronger enforcement of parity between behavioral health/SUD and physical health coverage, and highlighted tobacco and alcohol as major, under-addressed causes of death in Missouri. Dr. Doug Burgess then reinforced the need for a coordinated continuum of care, comparing substance use treatment to the seamless system used for heart attacks, and said patients should have standardized assessment, discharge planning from day one, transition coordinators, peer recovery coaches, and better information-sharing between levels of care. Members asked questions about relapse, treatment court, EMS referral barriers, reimbursement, and whether buprenorphine can be started in the field; no votes were taken, and the meeting ended with plans to continue hearing testimony and use it to shape future policy recommendations.
NM
New Mexico 2025 Regular Session
IC - Legislative Health and Human Services Sep 11th, 2025
Legislative Health & Human Services Committee
Transcript Highlights:
- We are very lucky here in Medication for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD).
- Medication to help with opioid use disorders.
- or possibly having an opioid use disorder.
- ERO dollars from our local opioid funding.
- So as a county using our opioid settlement funds to expand.
KY
Kentucky 2026 Regular Session
Senate Standing Committee on Health Service (2-11-26)
Transcript Highlights:
- any opioid or narcotic analgesic.
- The legislation ensures non-opioid access is not disadvantaged compared to opioids.
- . opioids. opioids.
- :23.280>
a Opioids were originally declared a Opioids were originally declared a public<00:04: - and opioids together?
Summary:
The Senate Standing Committee on Health Services met with a quorum and first moved through administrative regulations without comment. The committee then heard Senate Bill 56, sponsored by Senator Gerald Neal, which would require Medicaid and its managed care entities to treat non-opioid pain medications on equal footing with opioid analgesics by prohibiting more restrictive coverage controls, prior authorization, or step therapy for non-opioids. Neal argued the bill would improve access to safer pain treatment options and reduce the risk of opioid use disorder, and Billy O'Brien of Young People in Recovery testified in support, describing personal experiences where non-opioid options were difficult to obtain despite a desire to avoid opioids. After discussion, the bill received a motion and second and passed the committee on a 10-0 vote.
The committee then took up Senate Bill 72, sponsored by Senator Don Douglas and presented with Greg Chaffin of Alliance Defending Freedom. Douglas described the bill as a provider recruitment and retention measure intended to protect health care workers from being compelled to act against their conscience and to address workforce shortages and pressure in health care settings. He said the bill would protect individual beliefs while maintaining professionalism. A large number of witnesses then testified, and the chair limited public comments to two minutes each because of the number of speakers and the controversy surrounding the bill.
Most public testimony opposed SB 72. Speakers including representatives of the Kentucky Council of Churches, a psychologist, an ordained minister and nurse, a nurse practitioner, and an ACLU policy strategist argued the bill was overly broad, could allow refusals of care by a wide range of health care workers, and could delay or deny treatment, especially for vulnerable patients and in rural or emergency settings. Several cited concerns about discrimination, patient safety, and the lack of adequate protections for patients. One witness recounted the death of an 18-year-old pregnant patient as an example of the harm that can result from delayed care. The transcript ends during additional testimony on SB 72, before any committee vote or final action on that bill is shown.
WY
Transcript Highlights:
- alternative to opioids or stimulants. alternative to opioids or stimulants.
- <01:05:14.160>
like can be a stimulant or an opioid like can be a stimulant or an opioid like - >
or your typical opioid like fentanyl or your typical opioid like fentanyl or morphine,<01:08 - So, while kratom is not technically classified as an opioid, it does have opioid-like symptoms.
- <01:15:02.560>
settlement researching with the opioid settlement researching with the opioid
Keywords:
homeland security, search and rescue, grants, emergency response, Wyoming, sex offender, child care facility, residency restrictions, public safety, criminal law, sex offenders, child care facilities, legislation, kratom, regulation, healthcare, age restrictions, manufacturing standards, 916, all
VT
Vermont 2025-2026 Regular Session
Senate Session - 2026-05-12 - 10:00AM
Vermont Senate Floor Meeting
Transcript Highlights:
- industry regarding to [snorts] opioid industry regarding to [snorts] opioid addiction addiction
- <00:21:11.480>
Abatement for a fund called the Opioid Abatement for a fund called the Opioid - <00:25:49.960>
And opioid abatement special fund. And opioid abatement special fund. - as a result and into the opioid as a result and into the opioid abatement<00:27:46.120>
uh - So, if the money for the opioid<01:03:12.440>
settle opioid settle opioid settle overdose<01:03