Legislative Analysis
Phone: (517) 373-8080
OPIOID ANTAGONISTS
http://www.house.mi.gov/hfa
Senate Bill 542 as passed by the Senate Analysis available at
Sponsor: Sen. Kevin Hertel http://www.legislature.mi.gov
House Committee: Health Policy
Senate Committee: Health Policy
Complete to 12-11-24
SUMMARY:
Senate Bill 542 would create a new act to provide that, if the Department of Health and Human
Services (DHHS) distributes an opioid antagonist (such as Narcan) for free to a governmental
entity or another individual or entity, DHHS must allow that individual or entity to choose the
formulation, delivery device, method of administering, or dosage of the opioid antagonist they
will receive. However, this requirement would not apply to the extent that it would jeopardize
any DHHS federal funding.
Opioid antagonist would mean naloxone hydrochloride or an equally safe and effective
drug approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the
treatment of drug overdose.
BACKGROUND:
Naloxone hydrochloride is a nonaddictive drug that can safely and rapidly reverse the effects
of an opioid overdose. (Among other substances, opioids include heroin, fentanyl, and such
prescription drugs such as Vicodin, Dilaudid, Demerol, OxyContin, and Percocet.) Naloxone
is most commonly known by the brand names Narcan (a nasal spray) and Evzio (a prefilled
auto-injection device). 1 Administered to an individual whose breathing has slowed or stopped
due to an opioid overdose, naloxone can quickly restore normal breathing. It has been approved
as an over-the-counter medicine by the FDA. 2
The FDA has also approved a drug called nalmefene hydrochloride as an opioid overdose
reversal medication for prescription use in individuals who are 12 or older. Like naloxone,
nalmefene is available both as a nasal spray (brand name Opvee) and as a prefilled auto-injector
(brand name Zumai).
Michigan had 2,998 drug overdose deaths in 2022, and a projected 2,830 in 2023. 3 It is
estimated that 80% of those were opioid overdoses. 4 At the national level, 81,083 people died
of an opioid overdose in 2023. Health experts say that a third or more of opioid overdose deaths
occur in the presence of someone else, implying that if more bystanders had more access to
tools such as opioid antagonists, more lives could be saved.5 Accordingly, in response to the
1
Other nasal spray brand names include Rezenopy and RiVive.
2
See https://www.michigan.gov/opioids/find-help/naloxone-page
3
https://www.michigan.gov/opioids/category-data
4
That percentage estimate is based on national and 2021 Michigan percentages.
5
https://www.cdc.gov/overdose-prevention/reversing-overdose/
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 ongoing opioid epidemic, Michigan has taken steps to ensure that naloxone is more widely and
readily available when needed. 6 For example, DHHS oversees a web portal through which
organizations and health providers can request naloxone kits to help in reducing the number of
opioid-related overdoses by having naloxone available for use by their patients or clients or in
their communities.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The bill would have a minimal state fiscal cost for DHHS that would depend on the degree to
which the bill would change the current DHHS approval process, which only asks community
organizations to indicate the number of kits requested and notes that all requests are subject to
DHHS approval. The state currently uses federal opioid response funds and state restricted
opioid settlement funds to distribute opioid antagonists at no cost, so any fiscal impact would
presumably affect those fund sources before GF/GP costs. The bill would have no impact on
local units of government.
Legislative Analyst: Rick Yuille
Fiscal Analyst: Kevin Koorstra
■ This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan House Fiscal Agency staff for use by House members in their
deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.
6
For data on naloxone distribution, see page 15 of the 2023 Opioid Annual Report:
https://www.michigan.gov/opioids//opioids/-/media/Project/Websites/opioids/documents/2023_Opioids_Report-ver-
2.pdf
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