New Colorado Legislation Aimed At Addressing Opioid Epidemic
By Stan Bush
(CBS4) - State lawmakers are crafting new legislation to address the opioid epidemic in Colorado. A House study committee is reviewing the holes in Colorado's coverage and treatment abilities and hopes a bill will be part of the docket for the 2018 legislative session.
"It is so critical that Coloradans understand the severity of this epidemic," said State Rep. Brittany Pettersen, D-Lakewood, chairwoman of the Opioid and Other Substance Use Disorders Interim Study Committee.
For Pettersen, the fight against opioid addiction hits home. She told CBS4 her mother has struggled with addiction for almost 30 years.
"Through her experiences where she was at the point where she was begging for help and there were no options was when how broken our system became apparent for me," said Pettersen.
Law enforcement and health providers are testifying before the committee. On Tuesday Sen. Michael Bennet, a Democrat and Colorado's senior senator, says opioid cases are spreading to small towns.
"I suspect the reason I'm hearing about it in rural areas so much is there is such a lack of addiction treatment," said Bennet.
Bennet says the fight over cuts to Medicaid, a massive component to fighting addiction in rural areas, is in part why the Republican effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act failed.
"The only insurance people have in those rural counties is Medicaid and the only insurance that will take on opioids is Medicaid," said Bennet.
The state House study committee plans to have two more hearings on the opioid crisis before voting on the final language of the bill in October.
Stan Bush is a general assignment reporter at CBS4. His stories can be seen on CBS4 News at 10. Read his bio and follow him on Twitter @StanBushTV.
