PROVIDENCE, R.I. (Legal Newsline) – Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin announced that Sen. Elizabeth A. Crowley, D-District 16-Central Falls, Pawtucket, is sponsoring a bill that would mandate insurance companies must cover at least 90 days of residential or inpatient services for medical health and substance abuse disorders.
"Unfortunately, Rhode Island has been in the eye of the storm of heroin and fentanyl overdoses,” Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin said. “While the state has made great strides in providing naloxone, increasing recovery coaches in our emergency rooms, and prosecuting drug traffickers, I believe that we are overlooking essential pieces to this complex problems, and those are appropriate substance abuse education and providing necessary treatment to those suffering from substance use disorders.”
Crowley noted that too many people in the state are dying from overdoses. She believes this partly due to lack of effective medical coverage.
"It is morally wrong to put these people back on to the street to fight their addiction on their own due to monetary insurance reasons,” Crowley said. “If we want our children, friends, and loved ones to stop dying from overdoses, we need to ensure that they receive the proper medical treatment without being refused by the insurance companies."
According to research done by the National Institute of Drug Abuse Principles of Drug Addiction Treatment, most addicted individuals need at least three months in treatment to help reduce their drug use and addiction.