By Daniel Montaño, KUNM
More adolescents might have access to Medication Assisted Treatment, or MAT, for substance use disorder thanks to a bill that passed committee on a party line vote Friday.
House bill 152 would require facilities that receive state money and treat adolescents for substance use disorder to make MAT, like Suboxone or methadone, available and would provide funds for facilities to set up those programs.
That would include juvenile correctional and detention facilities, as well as inpatient and outpatient youth substance use programs, and more.
Rep. Eleanor Chávez, D-Albuquerque, who sponsored the bill, told KUNM the goal is not to force places into providing MAT to every adolescent who comes through their doors, but rather ensure the option is available for those who want to take advantage of it.
“In the past, we’ve had to deal with waiting lists, or we’ve had to deal with nonexistent services,” she said. “So I think that if we can respond quickly they’ll have better outcomes”
All four republicans on the House Health and Human Services committee voted against the bill. Rep. Jenifer Jones, (R-Deming) said the requirement to provide services would shut down smaller or rural providers who lack resources or are stretched thin.
“I’m 100% on board with providing that for juveniles. I think it’s absolutely necessary,” Jones said. “I just want to make, very sure, that we’re not actually decreasing access to necessary treatments, especially in rural areas that may not — because of the way the bill is worded — may not be able to grow even with an appropriation, based on limited workforce and other restrictions.”
Assistant Professor of Family & Community Medicine at University of New Mexico Dr. Nathan Birnbaum, said the funding is there to expand access, not restrict it, and that MAT is the gold standard of care when it comes to treating opioid use disorder.
“If you are starting a program now and you’re saying we only want a behavioral health approach, one that is not supported by evidence, if you’re a private organization that doesn’t want to take state funding, that may be fine, but if you are asking taxpayers to foot the bill for treatment, it should be evidence-based treatment,” he said. “And again, this is not saying that that treatment has to be used, only that it needs to be a tool in the toolbox that a provider, a family and the patient can discuss together and use if they find it appropriate for their circumstances.”
Birnbaum said the bill will empower these providers to intervene as early as possible with the best treatment currently available, giving these juveniles the best chance to succeed.
“Both in New Mexico and across the country, access to evidence-based substance use treatment is quite lacking, and that puts adolescents at a particularly high risk for ongoing use as adults,” he said.
The bill next heads to the House Appropriations and Finance Committee.
Support for this coverage comes from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.