Contact: Lindsey Ross, Senior Press Secretary
Lindsey.Ross@iga.in.gov
317-232-9498
STATEHOUSE (Jan. 29, 2019) – A bill authored by State Sen. Jeff Raatz (R-Richmond) that would extend the Opioid Treatment Pilot Program today passed the Senate by a unanimous vote.
Senate Bill 276 would allow the program, which provides opioid treatment services to those incapacitated by opioid use disorder, to continue through 2022. It was set to end in 2020.
Raatz authored Senate Enrolled Act 499 in 2017, which established the three-year pilot program in Tippecanoe, Marion and Wayne counties and required the Division of Mental Health and Addiction (DMHA) to collect data on the program and report the outcomes to the Legislative Council.
“The opioid epidemic is not an issue we can cure overnight - it will take time,” Raatz said. “This program is serving these communities well, but it is just getting off the ground. This legislation, if passed, would help ensure this program continues and is able to help as many people as possible, while giving us more data on the program.”
Under the bill, the DMHA would continue to monitor the program and provide the Legislative Council with a report by Nov. 1, 2022.
SB 276 will now move to the House of Representatives.
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For a high-resolution photo of Sen. Raatz, click here.
