102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
SB2539

 

Introduced 2/26/2021, by Sen. Melinda Bush

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
720 ILCS 570/322 new

    Amends the Illinois Controlled Substances Act. Provides that a prescriber shall offer a prescription for naloxone hydrochloride, or another similar drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration, under specified circumstances. Provides for educational information to be provided concerning overdose prevention and the use of naloxone hydrochloride. Provides that a prescriber who does not comply with specified requirements shall be subject to administrative sanctions under the appropriate licensing board. Specifies that the provisions do not create a private right of action against a prescriber, and do not limit a prescriber's liability for the negligent failure to diagnose or treat a patient. Provides that these provisions do apply to a patient receiving hospice care in accordance with the Hospice Program Licensing Act. Contains a purpose provision. Effective immediately.


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A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning criminal law.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Findings and purpose. The General Assembly
5finds that:
6    (a) Drug overdose is the leading cause of accidental death
7in the United States, with opioids being the most common drug;
8to stop the opioid crisis in Illinois, patients need access to
9the lifesaving drug naloxone and education on the risks of
10overdose.
11    (b) According to the Illinois Department of Public Health
12there were 2,219 deaths due to opioids in Illinois in 2019.
13    (c) Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a sharp
14increase in opioid-related deaths with Cook County reporting
151,599 overdose deaths in 2020, more than double the previous
16year.
17    (c) Research has shown rates of opioid use at the national
18scale are higher for whites than they are for African
19Americans, yet rates of opioid deaths are higher among African
20Americans (43%) than whites (22%). The COVID-19 pandemic will
21likely exacerbate this situation due to job loss, stay-at-home
22orders, and ongoing mitigation efforts creating a lack of
23physical access to addiction support and harm reduction
24groups. The combination of an opioid overdose crisis and

 

 

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1COVID-19 has created a situation in Illinois in which epidemic
2meets pandemic. Stay-at-home orders have created a lack of
3physical access to addiction support and harm reduction groups
4during the COVID-19 epidemic and increased social isolation
5adding to the mental health burdens on people with substance
6abuse issues. Even with the rise in opioid overdoses both here
7in Illinois and across the country, doctors continue to
8prescribe high amounts of opioids.
9    (d) The United States Food and Drug Administration took
10strong action in 2020 advising doctors to co-prescribe
11naloxone and requiring opioid labels to be updated to
12recommend that as a routine part of prescribing these
13medicines, doctors should discuss the availability of naloxone
14with patients and caregivers when beginning and renewing
15treatment.
16    (e) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the
17United States Department of Health and Human Services issued
18an advisory in 2020 to healthcare providers to "prescribe
19naloxone to individuals at risk for opioid overdose, such as
20those with a prior history of overdose, those with opioid use
21disorder, and individuals using illicit opioids and other
22drugs that might be mixed with illicitly manufactured
23fentanyl," and to "co-prescribe naloxone to patients with high
24morphine milligram equivalents and those receiving opioids and
25benzodiazepines."
26    (f) Therefore, in order to save lives, address

 

 

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1long-standing health inequities, and educate patients on the
2risks of opioid overdose, Illinois needs to take action to
3implement the co-prescription of naloxone alongside opioid
4prescriptions.
 
5    Section 5. The Illinois Controlled Substances Act is
6amended by adding Section 322 as follows:
 
7    (720 ILCS 570/322 new)
8    Sec. 322. Naloxone hydrochloride prescription.
9    (a) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary,
10a prescriber shall:
11        (1) offer a prescription for naloxone hydrochloride or
12    another drug approved by the United States Food and Drug
13    Administration for the complete or partial reversal of
14    opioid depression to a patient when one or more of the
15    following conditions are met:
16            (A) the prescription dosage for the patient is 50
17        or more morphine milligram equivalents of an opioid
18        medication per day;
19            (B) an opioid medication is prescribed
20        concurrently with a prescription for benzodiazepine;
21        or
22            (C) the patient presents with an increased risk
23        for overdose, including a patient with a known history
24        of overdose, a patient with a known history of

 

 

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1        substance use disorder, or a patient at risk for
2        returning to a high dose of opioid medication to which
3        the patient is no longer tolerant;
4        (2) consistent with the existing standard of care and
5    with guidelines issued by the United States Food and Drug
6    Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and
7    Prevention of the United States Department of Health and
8    Human Services, provide education to patients receiving a
9    prescription under paragraph (1) of this subsection (a) on
10    overdose prevention and the use of naloxone hydrochloride
11    or another drug approved by the United States Food and
12    Drug Administration for the complete or partial reversal
13    of opioid depression; and
14        (3) consistent with the existing standard of care and
15    with guidelines issued by the United States Food and Drug
16    Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and
17    Prevention of the United States Department of Health and
18    Human Services, provide education on overdose prevention
19    and the use of naloxone hydrochloride or another drug
20    approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration
21    for the complete or partial reversal of opioid depression
22    to one or more persons designated by the patient, or, for a
23    patient who is a minor, to the minor's parent or guardian.
24    (b) A prescriber who does not comply with the requirements
25of this Section shall be subject to disciplinary action under
26the prescriber's licensing Act. This Section does not create a

 

 

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1private right of action against a prescriber, and does not
2limit a prescriber's liability for the negligent failure to
3diagnose or treat a patient.
4    (c) This Section does not apply to a patient receiving
5hospice care in accordance with the Hospice Program Licensing
6Act.
 
7    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
8becoming law.