OCAN Teammates,
Please call PA Senator Michele Brooks (R-Erie), Chairperson of the Health and Services Committee, ASAP, and ask her (or leave a message for her, asking her to) vote SB 975 and SB 976 to the floor. As the Committee Chair, she has the power to do so or kill the bills in her committee.
Her office phone number is 717-787-1322.
SB 975 forbids the denial of treatment and coverage for treatment to anyone due to their sobriety status at the time of reporting for treatment. My son, Brendan Arata was denied coverage by Independence Blue Cross because he was sober when he reported to Mirmont suffering from urges to relapse. Mirmont wanted to admit him but IBC refused to cover his admittance because they deemed it "not medically necessary." With thousands of people dying as a result of overdoses suffered after a relapse, this practice is tantamount to accessory to murder. This is a life-saving bill.
SB 976 mandates that the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP) send a survey / questionnaire to all treatment centers and recovery homes in the state requesting information about the services they provide, qualifications of their staff and outcomes of their patients and residents, and publish on their website the information they receive. Those who do not respond will be listed as "did not respond." It is similar to a Department of Education practice which sends surveys / questionnaires to all childcare centers in the state and publishes results on their website. Parents can evaluate childcare centers by zip code. DDAP should provide basic information about treatment centers and recovery homes. This life-saving bill will provide transparency to prospective patients and residents, and their loved ones, evaluating treatment centers and recovery homes. When we were searching for a recovery home for Brendan, there was no reliable source of information. This life-saving bill mandates that there will be a place to start.
If you have any questions, please call me at 610-290-3934.
Again, please call Senator Brooks and ask her to vote these two life-saving bills to the Senate floor. Please also forward this email to your friends and share it on your Facebook page.
Sincerely,
Larry Arata
Co-founder,
Opioid Crisis Action Network
610-290-3934