NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A10162
SPONSOR: Rules (Lupardo) TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the family court act, in relation to assessment services
for youth alleged to be suffering from substance use disorder
PURPOSE:
New York is confronting a rapidly growing problem involving the use,
abuse and trafficking of heroin and prescription painkillers. This pack-
age of comprehensive legislation will strengthen New York's ability to
combat abuse of these drugs, and provide communities, families, and
individuals devastated by these dangerous substances with critical tools
for addressing crime and addiction.
SUMMARY OF BILLS:
These 11 bills would:
* amend Public Health L. (PHL) § 3385-a to further enhance the investi-
gation capabilities of the Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement (BNE) in the
Department of Health (DOH) by directing the Division of Criminal Justice
Services to give BNE access to criminal history information currently
maintained by the Division;
* create a new Penal L. § 178.26 creating the crime of fraud and deceit
related to controlled substances, a Class A misdemeanor;
* rename and amend Penal L. § 220.65 by adding the additional element of
criminal sale of a controlled substance by a practitioner or pharmacist
while he or she purports to act in his or her capacity as a practitioner
or pharmacist;
* amend Criminal Procedure L. § 700.05 (8) (c) to add newly amended
Penal Law § 220.65, as a designated offense for purposes of obtaining
"eavesdropping and surveillance warrants" and amend the Penal L. §
460.10 (1)(a) to add Penal L. § 220.65 as a "criminal act" within the
Penal Law definition of "enterprise corruption";
* amend PHL § 3309 to expand distribution of informational cards or
sheets listing, among others, the steps to take before and after`an
opioid antagonist is administered;
* amend Mental Hygiene L. § 19.18 to establish the Opioid Addiction
Treatment and Hospital Diversion Demonstration Program whereby the
Commissioner of the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services
(OASAS), is authorized to establish demonstration programs throughout
the state to test new approaches to providing services to individuals
who are attempting to detoxify from heroin where a hospital level of
care is unnecessary;
* amend the Mental Hygiene Law by adding a new § 19.18-a to require
OASAS in consultation with the Department of Health to create a wrapa-
round services demonstration program which would provide services to
adolescents and adults for up to nine months after the successful
completion of a treatment program;
* amend the definition in Family Court Act (FCA) §§ 712 and 735 to spec-
ify that Persons in Need of Supervision (PINS) diversion services, in
cases where the petitioner alleges the child has a substance use disor-
der or is in need of immediate detoxification or substance use disorder
services, may include assessment for substance use disorders;
* amend Education L. § 804 to require the Commissioner of Education to
review the existing health curriculum requirements and to incorporate
standards and requirements related to the risks of heroin and opioid
use;
* amend Mental Hygiene L. § 19.07 to require the OASAS to develop, in
consultation with the Department of Health, a multi-media public educa-
tion program regarding heroin and opioid abuse and misuse; and
* amend Insurance L. §§ 3216, 3221 and 4303 to improve access to care by
requiring insurers to use peer-reviewed, clinical review criteria when
making decisions regarding the medical necessity of treatment for
persons suffering from substance use disorders, to require that medical
necessity decisions be made by medical professionals who specialize in
behavioral health and substance use, and to ensure that individuals
requiring treatment have access to an expedited appeals process and that
they are not denied care while the appeals process is underway.
EXISTING LAW:
These bills would amend the Executive Law, the Public Health Law, the
Education Law, the Family Court Act, the Penal Law, the Insurance Law,
and the Mental Hygiene Law.
JUSTIFICATION:
The trafficking and abuse of heroin and opioids is increasing rapidly.
To combat this onslaught, New York State must continue to be a leader in
the fight against these devastating drugs. In New York City alone, from
2010 to 2012, heroin-related deaths rose 84%. The destruction caused by
heroin has not been limited to New York City. From 2002 to 2012, the
number of young adults across the state, ages 18-25, using heroin has
more than doubled. Upstate, the treatment admissions involving heroin
have gone up 25%. Heroin is inexpensive compared to other narcotics and
it continues to be readily accessible, making it the drug of choice for
many addicts. In fact, felony drug court participants that reported
heroin as their drug of choice increased from 13% in 2008 to 24% in
2013. This comprehensive legislative package takes a bold new approach
to curb the spread of these dangerous drugs.
GIVE BNE ACCESS TO VITAL CRIMINAL HISTORY INFORMATION
Criminal background and other key information about the target of any
investigation is a vital component in the investigative process. The BNE
is a crucial collaborator in the investigation and prosecution of crimi-
nal prescribers of opioids. In order to further enhance the capabilities
of the BNE, it is essential that it be able to run criminal history
checks on targets of investigations. This bill would provide this neces-
sary investigative tool to the BNE, resulting in successful investi-
gations.
MAKE FRAUD IN OBTAINING CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES A PENAL LAW CRIME
Under PHL § 3397, it is an unclassified misdemeanor for a person to use
fraud or deceit to obtain a controlled substance or a prescription for
controlled substances. Adding a similar section to the Penal Law will
further enhance law enforcement's ability to combat such fraud and
deceit, including doctor shopping, by putting police and district attor-
neys throughout the state on notice by creating a clearly defined crime
and related penalty within the Penal Law.
IMPOSE HIGHER PENALTIES ON CERTAIN PROFESSIONALS WHO DIVERT CONTROLLED
SUBSTANCES
Penal L. § 220.65 prohibits the sale of a controlled substance by a
practitioner or pharmacist. Currently the sale of a controlled substance
by anyone is a Class D felony. This amendment would create the higher
class C felony for those licensed professionals, including physicians
and pharmacists, who abuse the public's trust by illegally selling
controlled substances under the guise of legitimate medical practice or
other health care practices.
GIVE LAW ENFORCEMENT MORE TOOLS TO COMBAT CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE ABUSE
Criminal Procedure L. § 700.05(c) would be amended to include the newly
amended and created crimes in Penal L. § 220.65 as an enumerated offense
under the definition of "eavesdropping warrants." This small but signif-
icant amendment would give law-enforcement and prosecutors the ability
to utilize eavesdropping warrants to further fully investigate crimes
involving the distribution of controlled substances.
Penal L. § 460.10(1)(a) would also be amended to include the newly
amended and created crimes in Penal L. § 220.65 under the definition of
the crime of "enterprise corruption". This would empower law enforcement
to further prosecute organized activity related to prescription drug
trafficking in New York State.
DISTRIBUTE INFORMATION ON OPIOID ANTAGONISTS
In 2006, DOH established community-based opioid overdose prevention
programs to train persons likely to witness an overdose on how to recog-
nize and respond to such a situation, including the use of naloxone, an
opioid antagonist that can reverse the overdose. Since that time, 130
programs have been registered and 15,000 responders have been trained.
Among those trained have not only been police and other traditional
first responders, but also family members of opioid users, homeless
shelter staff, employees of drug treatment programs, and drug users
themselves. Since 2006, over 850 overdose reversals have been reported
to the Department of Health. This bill would make an already successful
program even more impactful and save many more lives through the
distribution of informational cards or sheets when opioid antagonists
are dispensed. These informational cards would provide recipients with
the important information on how to recognize symptoms of an overdose;
what steps to take, including calling first responders; and how to
access services through OASAS.
ESTABLISH A DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM TO TEST NEW APPROACHES TO TREATING
SUBSTANCE ABUSE
Through this demonstration program, OASAS would work with its providers
to test new approaches to providing services to individuals who are
attempting to detox from heroin where a hospital level of care is unnec-
essary. This demonstration program would provide alternative short term
community based treatment, thereby avoiding unnecessary emergency room
costs. By demonstrating new approaches statewide, OASAS will be able to
study the effectiveness of the new approaches to determine their validi-
ty while, more importantly, addressing the needs of individuals in need
of care.
ESTABLISH A WRAPAROUND PROGRAM TO PROVIDE COMPREHENSIVE TREATMENT
SERVICES
OASAS in consultation with the Department of Health would create a
wraparound services demonstration program which will provide services to
adolescents and adults for up to nine months after the successful
completion of a treatment program. These services would be in the form
of case management services and including addressing:
* Education resources;
* Legal services;
* Financial services;
* Social services;
* Family services;
* Childcare services;
* Peer to peer support;
* Employment support;
* Transportation assistance;
Wraparound services generally refer to a complete and comprehensive
method of providing services that would have the greatest impact on the
individual who is receiving such services. This legislation would
require OASAS to expand its existing case management services and build
relationships in communities across the state to provide services that
will allow for them to provide services to their clients that will
greatly improve their quality of life and greatly reduce the likelihood
of a person relapsing.
EXPAND THE AVAILABILITY OF PINS DIVERSION SERVICES FOR YOUTH
FCA §§ 712 and 735 would be amended to allow the designated lead agency
for the purpose of providing PINS diversion services (either the local
social services district or the local probation department) to determine
whether an assessment for substance use disorder by an OASAS certified
provider of services is necessary in cases where the youth is alleged to
be suffering from a substance use disorder which could make the youth a
danger to himself or herself or others. The legislation requires OASAS
to make available a list of certified treatment providers to designated
lead agencies. It also provides that the designated lead agency shall
not be required to pay for an assessment for substance use disorder or
related services, except in cases where Medicaid may be used to pay for
such assessment or services.
ESTABLISH THROUGH THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT AND UPDATED DRUG ABUSE
CURRICULUM
This bill would amend Education L. § 804 to require that the Commission-
er of Education update drug abuse curriculum every three years so that
students have the most current and up-to-date information on coping with
drugs and other substances.
IMPLEMENT A PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN
This would amend the Mental Hygiene Law to direct OASAS to undertake a
public awareness and educational campaign in cooperation with DOH
utilizing public forums, media (social and mass) as well as all forms of
advertising to educate youth, parents, healthcare professionals and
others about the risks associated with heroin and opioids, how to recog-
nize signs of addiction and the resources available to deal with these
issues.
EXPAND INSURANCE COVERAGE OF TREATMENT FOR PATIENTS SUFFERING FROM
SUBSTANCE ABUSE
This legislation would improve access to care by requiring insurers-to
use peer-reviewed, nationally recognized clinical review criteria when
making decisions regarding the medical necessity of treatment. This will
require insurers to consistently cover the appropriate level of treat-
ment for patients suffering from substance use disorders. In addition,
medical necessity decisions will be made by medical professionals Who
specialize in behavioral health and substance use. Further, the legis-
lation would also ensure that individuals requiring treatment have
access to an expedited appeals process and that they are not denied care
while the appeals process is underway.
BUDGET IMPLICATIONS:
There will be sufficient funding for all proposals through existing and
future appropriations.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Each bill has its own effective date.
