A03496 Summary:

BILL NOA03496
 
SAME ASSAME AS S02625
 
SPONSORMcDonald
 
COSPNSRSteck
 
MLTSPNSR
 
Amd §§3331, 206 & 3381, Pub Health L; amd §§6801 & 6527, Ed L
 
Allows a licensed pharmacist to prescribe and order FDA-approved medication assisted therapy under a non-patient-specific regimen for the treatment of opioid use disease.
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A03496 Actions:

BILL NOA03496
 
01/28/2025referred to higher education
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A03496 Floor Votes:

There are no votes for this bill in this legislative session.
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A03496 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A3496
 
SPONSOR: McDonald
  TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the public health law and the education law, in relation to enhancing patient access to medication assisted treatment for treat- ment of opioid disease   SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS: Section 1 amends section 3331 of public health law by adding a subdivi- sion that authorizes pharmacists to administer and dispense substances listed in schedules III, IV, and V for the treatment of opioid use disorder. Section 2 amends section 6801 of education law by adding a subdivision that authorizes pharmacists to prescribe FDA-approved medication assisted therapy under a non-patient-specific regimen for the treatment of opioid use disorder. Section 3 amends subdivision 1 of chapter 206 of public health law by adding a paragraph that directs the commissioner of health to establish a statewide protocol for pharmacist prescribing of medication assisted treatment of opioid use disorder. Section 4 amends paragraph (e) of subdivision 4 of section 3381 of the public health by authorizing licensed pharmacists to offer medication assisted treatment for opioid use disorder. Section 5 amends section 6527 of education law by adding a subdivision that authorizes licensed physicians to prescribe and order a non-pa- tient-specific regimen to a licensed pharmacist, for prescribing bupre- norphine for the care of patients with opioid use disorder. Section 6 establishes the effective date.   JUSTIFICATION: As individuals struggle with substance use disorder, we need an all- hands-on deck approach to make sure care is accessible throughout New York State. This bill allows a physician and pharmacist to enter into a collaborate agreement to increase the number of individuals authorized to prescribe buprenorphine. The bill allows a physician to provide a non-patient specific order to the pharmacist for buprenorphine. The federal government has recently taken steps to increase the avail- ability of buprenorphine. With the passage of the bipartisan Mainstream- ing Addiction Treatment Act, Congress removed regulations requiring potential prescribers to register with the federal government. Buprenor- phine, one of three medications approved by the Food and Drug Adminis- tration for the treatment for OUD, reduces the risk of overdose, illicit opioid use, and the transmission of infectious disease that can accompa- ny injection drug use. With the registration requirement gone, health care providers with state and federal authority to prescribe narcotics can now prescribe buprenorphine. However, Buprenorphine prescribing remains low, despite the drug's over- all effectiveness and safety as a treatment for OUD. From 2016 through 2019, 20% of Medicare patients with OUD filled prescriptions for bupre- norphine, according to a recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine. Racial disparities also exist in prescribing of the drug, with white patients being 80% more likely to receive a prescription than Black patients and 25% more likely to receive a prescription than Latino patients. Additionally, some office-based practices are hesitant to accept new patients however pharmacies are the most accessible health care provider. States such as Nevada and Rhode Island have authorized physicians to collaborate with pharmacists to assess patients and if appropriate prescribe buprenorphine. Specifically in Rhode Island, a pilot study tracked the experiences of 100 patients who started taking buprenorphine after visiting a trained pharmacist for their care. Once stabilized on the medication, 58 patients were randomly assigned to receive either continued care in the pharmacy or usual care in a clinic or physician's office. After one month, the patients in the pharmacy care group showed dramatically higher rates of retention: 25 patients (89%) continued to receive treatment in the pharmacy compared to five (17%) in the usual care group. A third of patients in the study identified as Black, Indigenous, or persons of color, and almost half were without a perma- nent residence. With 6,000 pharmacies in New York State, pharmacists are widely accessi- ble and represent enormous potential to connect patients suffering from opiate use disorders to highly competent health care professionals and ongoing care. This legislation is yet another tool to reduce barriers to care for those who struggle with SUD utilizing the collaboration between a physician and pharmacist.   PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: 2023-2024: A.6778   FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None.   EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it shall have become a law.
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A03496 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          3496
 
                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                    January 28, 2025
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced by M. of A. McDONALD -- read once and referred to the Commit-
          tee on Higher Education
 
        AN ACT to amend the public health law and the education law, in relation
          to  enhancing  patient  access  to  medication  assisted treatment for
          treatment of opioid disease

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section  1. Section 3331 of the public health law is amended by adding
     2  a new subdivision 10 to read as follows:
     3    10. A pharmacist, in good faith, and in the usual  course  of  profes-
     4  sional   pharmacy  practice,  may  prescribe,  administer  and  dispense
     5  substances listed in schedules III, IV,  and  V  for  the  treatment  of
     6  opioid use disorders, as provided in titles III or V of this article.
     7    §  2.    Section  6801 of the education law is amended by adding a new
     8  subdivision 10 to read as follows:
     9    10. (a) A licensed pharmacist may  prescribe  FDA-approved  medication
    10  assisted  therapy under a non-patient-specific regimen for the treatment
    11  of opioid use disease in accordance with subdivision twelve  of  section
    12  sixty-five hundred twenty-seven of this title and regulations promulgat-
    13  ed  by  the commissioner of health established pursuant to paragraph (x)
    14  of subdivision one of section two hundred six of the public  health  law
    15  in consultation with the commissioner.
    16    (b) A licensed pharmacist authorized to issue a prescription for medi-
    17  cation assisted treatment of opioid use disorder shall:
    18    (i)    register  with  the federal Drug Enforcement Administration and
    19  complete  the  training  required  by  Section  303  of  the  Controlled
    20  Substances Act (21 USC 823);
    21    (ii)  provide information to the patient on the importance of having a
    22  primary health care  practitioner,  developed  by  the  commissioner  of
    23  health;
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD05761-03-5

        A. 3496                             2
 
     1    (iii) report such administration by electronic transmission or facsim-
     2  ile to the patient's attending primary health care practitioner or prac-
     3  titioners, if any; and
     4    (iv) refer patient to provider or practice responsible for collaborat-
     5  ing in the non-patient-specific regimen.
     6    §  3. Subdivision 1 of section 206 of the public health law is amended
     7  by adding a new paragraph (x) to read as follows:
     8    (x) establish a statewide protocol for pharmacist prescribing of medi-
     9  cation assisted treatment of opioid use disorder, not later than  ninety
    10  days  after the effective date of this paragraph.  A licensed pharmacist
    11  authorized to issue a prescription for medication assisted treatment  of
    12  opioid  use  disorder  shall  register with the federal Drug Enforcement
    13  Administration and complete the training required by Section 303 of  the
    14  Controlled Substances Act (21 USC 823).
    15    §  4.  Paragraph  (e)  of  subdivision 4 of section 3381 of the public
    16  health law, as amended by chapter 433 of the laws of 2021, is amended to
    17  read as follows:
    18    (e) A pharmacy registered under article one  hundred  thirty-seven  of
    19  the  education law may offer counseling and referral services to custom-
    20  ers purchasing  hypodermic  syringes  for  the  purpose  of:  preventing
    21  injection  drug  abuse;  the provision of drug treatment; preventing and
    22  treating hepatitis C; preventing drug overdose; testing  for  the  human
    23  immunodeficiency  virus; and providing pre-exposure prophylaxis and non-
    24  occupational post-exposure prophylaxis. The content of  such  counseling
    25  and  referral shall be at the professional discretion of the pharmacist.
    26  A licensed pharmacist authorized to issue prescriptions  for  medication
    27  assisted  treatment  pursuant to subdivision ten of section thirty-three
    28  hundred thirty-one of this article may offer medication assisted  treat-
    29  ment.
    30    §  5.  Section  6527  of  the education law is amended by adding a new
    31  subdivision 12 to read as follows:
    32    12. A licensed physician may prescribe and order a non-patient-specif-
    33  ic regimen to a licensed pharmacist, for prescribing  buprenorphine  for
    34  the  care  of  patients with opioid use disorder pursuant to subdivision
    35  ten of section sixty-eight hundred one of this title.
    36    § 6. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
    37  it shall have become a law.
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