U.S. Rep. Keith Rothfus and a Democratic colleague have introduced legislation to expand access to naloxone, the drug used to immediately treat overdose victims.
Rothfus, R-12, Sewickley, and U.S. Rep. Bill Keating of Massachusetts co-sponsored the Naloxone Guidelines Act (HR 5926).
A statement from Rothfus’ office said the legislation stems from the Co-Prescribing Saves Lives Act of 2016, which the two congressmen also co-introduced in March 2016. Much of that act was incorporated into the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act in 2016, which included funding to address the opioid crisis.
The Naloxone Guidelines Act would require the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to provide recommendations for naloxone use from any type of opioid and not just prescriptions.
“Heroin and opioid abuse are destroying families and devastating communities across western Pennsylvania,” Rothfus said in the statement. “I am glad to work with Congressman Keating on this bipartisan bill. It is another important step toward equipping communities with the resources they need to end the opioid epidemic. In recent years, my colleagues and I have worked to make naloxone, a lifesaving drug, more available. We must continue to expand access to it in affected communities.”
Keating said a majority of opioid overdoses are now a result of heroin or fentanyl use as opposed to prescription opioids.
“Our first responders and health-care professionals need to have up-to-date guidance that reflects the emergencies they are seeing in our communities right now,” he said. “If we’re going to save lives, naloxone has to be in the right hands, with the right dosage guidance, at the exact moment when it’s a matter of life and death.”