'The last number that I got, we were over 300 deaths with about 80 people waiting for autopsies,' Israel said. He said, in 2016 alone, Erie County had nearly 400 overdose deaths. 'The fact that you don't have to be pre-approved and you're not being sent home to wait until approval comes on, that's a plus,' Israel said.ĭespite the increased attention on the epidemic, the Western New York advocate said more actions like these are needed.
Cuomo would like to extend it to outpatient treatment too. For instance, a bill signed in June allowed immediate inpatient access to treatment without prior authorization from insurance companies. The proposal piggybacks legislation passed last year. 'Anything along those lines of trying to tackle this is welcome news by me,' said Avi Israel, President of Save the Michaels of the World. 'Opioids and the over-prescription of opioids has caused an epidemic in this state and in this nation that has cost us many, many lives,' he said Tuesday.Īmong the ideas, Cuomo wants to add new drugs to the controlled substance list, recruit more people who can prescribe life-saving medication, and establish treatment centers that are open all the time.
Andrew Cuomo is proposing a six point plan to combat heroin and opioid use in the state
