General Assembly Raised Bill No. 7010
January Session, 2017 LCO No. 3402
*03402_______PH_*
Referred to Committee on PUBLIC HEALTH
Introduced by:
(PH)
General Assembly
Raised Bill No. 7010
January Session, 2017
LCO No. 3402
*03402_______PH_*
Referred to Committee on PUBLIC HEALTH
Introduced by:
(PH)
AN ACT CONCERNING OPIOIDS AND SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 17a-684 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2017):
(a) A person [who is intoxicated at the time of application] for whom an application for commitment is made pursuant to subsection (b) of this section and who (1) is dangerous to himself or herself, or dangerous to others unless committed, which may be evidenced by such person having repeatedly overdosed on drugs or been administered an opioid antagonist on multiple occasions, (2) needs medical treatment for detoxification for potentially life-threatening symptoms of withdrawal from alcohol or drugs, which may be evidenced by such person having repeatedly overdosed on drugs or been administered an opioid antagonist on multiple occasions, or (3) is incapacitated by alcohol, may be committed for emergency treatment to a treatment facility operated by the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services or a private treatment facility approved by the department to provide emergency treatment. [The requirement that a person be intoxicated at the time of application may be waived if a licensed physician determines that the person is in immediate need of medical treatment for detoxification for potentially life-threatening withdrawal symptoms.] A refusal to undergo treatment shall not constitute evidence of lack of judgment as to the need for treatment.
(b) A physician, spouse, guardian or relative of the person to be committed, or any other responsible person, including, but not limited to, any physician who provides emergency medical services to such person in connection with a drug overdose, may make a written application for commitment under this section, directed to the administrator of a treatment facility operated by the department or approved by the department to provide emergency treatment. The application shall state facts to support the need for emergency treatment and be accompanied by a physician's certificate stating that he or she has examined the person sought to be committed within two days before the certificate's date and facts supporting the need for emergency treatment.
(c) Upon tentative approval of the application by the administrator of the treatment facility, the person shall be transferred to the facility. The medical officer of the treatment facility shall immediately examine the person sought to be committed and advise the administrator of the treatment facility whether the application sustains the grounds to commit the person for emergency treatment. The administrator shall either accept the application or refuse the application if the application fails to sustain the grounds for commitment. If the administrator accepts the application, the person shall be retained at the facility to which he or she was admitted, or transferred to another appropriate treatment facility, until discharged under subsection (d) of this section.
(d) When, on the advice of the medical officer, the administrator determines that the grounds for commitment for emergency treatment no longer exist, the administrator shall discharge a person committed under this section. No person committed under this section may be detained in any treatment facility for more than five days. If an application for involuntary commitment under section 17a-685 has been filed within the five-day period and the administrator of the treatment facility, on the advice of the medical officer of the facility, finds that grounds for commitment exist under the provisions of said section, he or she may detain the person until the application has been heard and determined, but no longer than seven business days after filing the application.
(e) A copy of the written application for commitment and a written explanation of the person's right to counsel, shall be given by the administrator of the treatment facility to the person within twenty-four hours after commitment under this section. The administrator shall provide a reasonable opportunity for the person to consult counsel.
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2017) No person shall be refused admission into a rehabilitation facility that treats persons with substance use disorders solely due to the fact that the person was intoxicated or tested positive for the use of an illegal substance or opioid antagonist, as defined in section 17a-714a of the general statutes, at the time he or she applied for or otherwise sought admission.
Sec. 3. (Effective July 1, 2017) The sum of ____ dollars is appropriated to the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, from the General Fund, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2018, for purposes of increasing the number of beds at in-patient rehabilitation and treatment facilities to accommodate patients with opioid use disorders.
Sec. 4. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2017) (a) There is established a psychiatry services for substance use disorders loan reimbursement program to be administered by the Board of Regents for Higher Education.
(b) A Connecticut resident who, on or after May 1, 2017, (1) graduated from an institution of higher education with a doctor of medicine degree, (2) successfully completed a psychiatry residency program, and (3) has provided psychiatry services in the state to persons with substance use disorders for at least two years after completion of the residency program shall be eligible for reimbursement of federal or state educational loans up to a maximum of two thousand five hundred dollars per year or five per cent of the amount of such loans per year, whichever is less, for up to four years.
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (b) of this section, the total dollar value of loan reimbursements available to a person under this section, when combined with loan reimbursements available to such person under any other provision of the general statutes, shall not exceed ten thousand dollars per recipient.
(d) The Board of Regents for Higher Education may adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54 of the general statutes, to carry out the provisions of subsections (a) to (c), inclusive, of this section.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2017 17a-684
Sec. 2 July 1, 2017 New section
Sec. 3 July 1, 2017 New section
Sec. 4 July 1, 2017 New section
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1
July 1, 2017
17a-684
Sec. 2
July 1, 2017
New section
Sec. 3
July 1, 2017
New section
Sec. 4
July 1, 2017
New section
Statement of Purpose:
To enable better care and treatment of persons with opioid and other substance use disorders.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]