SB 17-074

Senate Bill 17-074, also known as the Medication-assisted Treatment Pilot Program, aims to help people addicted to opioids by providing grants to healthcare providers in Pueblo and Routt counties. These grants will fund training for nurse practitioners and physician assistants so they can prescribe medications like buprenorphine, which are used to treat opioid addiction, along with behavioral therapies. The program is funded with $500,000 each year from the marijuana tax cash fund and will run until June 30, 2020. Since the bill has been signed into law, it means that this pilot program is now active and in implementation to help address opioid addiction in these two counties.

Official Summary

The bill creates the medication-assisted treatment (MAT) expansion pilot program, administered by the university of Colorado college of nursing, to expand access to medication-assisted treatment to opioid-dependent patients in Pueblo and Routt counties. The pilot program will provide grants to community- and office-based practices, behavioral health organizations, and substance abuse treatment organizations to: Assist nurse practitioners and physician assistants working in those settings to obtain training and support required under the federal 'Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016' (CARA) to enable them to prescribe buprenorphine and other FDA-approved medications and therapies as part of providing MAT to opioid-dependent patients; and Provide behavioral therapies in conjunction with medication as part of the provision of MAT to opioid-dependent patients. The general assembly is directed to appropriate $500,000 per year for the 2017-18 and 2018-19 fiscal years from the marijuana tax cash fund to the university of Colorado board of regents, for allocation to the college of nursing to implement the pilot program. Each grant recipient must submit a report to the college of nursing regarding the use of the grant, and the college of nursing must submit a summarized report to the governor and the health committees of the senate and house of representatives regarding the pilot program. The pilot program is established and funded for 2 years and repeals on June 30, 2020. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

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