Pennsylvania loses more than 5,000 residents every year to drug overdose deaths, and Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) is the leading driver. Medications for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD), particularly buprenorphine, have been proven to cut overdose deaths, reduce recidivism, and improve long-term recovery outcomes. 

The problem is access. Across Pennsylvania, rural communities, working-class neighborhoods, and underserved areas face a shortage of addiction treatment providers. People who want and need treatment cannot get it because they do not live in proximity to anyone who is authorized to provide it. 

Meanwhile, approximately 90% of Pennsylvanians live within five miles of a community pharmacy. Pharmacists are trusted, trained healthcare professionals, who see patients more frequently than any other provider. But under current Pennsylvania law, they are largely blocked from managing OUD treatment. 

Ten states and the Veterans Health Administration already authorize pharmacists to prescribe buprenorphine for OUD through independent practice or collaborative practice agreements. My legislation would make Pennsylvania the next to allow pharmacists to manage buprenorphine care.  

Pennsylvania has received more than $1 billion in opioid settlement funds. This legislation would deploy a portion of those funds to expand the provider workforce for OUD treatment and support pharmacist training and DEA registration for buprenorphine prescribing authority, Board of Pharmacy administrative costs for statewide protocol development, reimbursement infrastructure for pharmacist MOUD clinical services through Medicaid and commercial insurance, and outreach and implementation support for rural and independent pharmacies.  

Please join me in support of this legislation to help expand access to effective, life-saving addiction treatment for Opioid Use Disorder.