Subject: Re: FOR THE BOOK: Politics and Eggs
From: Corey Ciorciari <[email-masked]>
To: Harrell Kirstein <[email-masked]>, Sara Solow <[email-masked]>
Cc: Emily Aden <[email-masked]>, Dan Stein <[email-masked]>, Megan Rooney <[email-masked]>, Speech Drafts <[email-masked]>, Mike Schmidt <[email-masked]>, Michael Shapiro <[email-masked]>, Mike Vlacich <[email-masked]>, Speech Book <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 28 Oct 2015 10:38:20 -0400
List-Id: <speechdrafts.hillaryclinton.com>

Adding Sara here

On Wed, Oct 28, 2015 at 10:19 AM, Harrell Kirstein <
[email-masked]> wrote:

> Hi -- Governor Hassan is announcing a new initiative on substance abuse
> this morning.  The details are in a release copied below.
>
> Mike wants to add a line to HRC's remarks at politics and eggs today
> touching on the Governor's plan.  I think we are likely to get asked about
> it on the local interviews as well.
>
> Republicans are pushing back saying the governor is ignoring a mandatory
> six month public input period before enacting her proposed changes.  This
> is their response to that attack.
>
> *While the Governor’s Office and the Attorney General are working closely
> with the Board of Medicine to develop stronger, more explicit and more
> up-to-date rules on the prescribing of opioids, there has been some
> resistance within the medical community to these changes. Despite this
> pushback, we cannot afford to wait, and the Governor will continue to work
> with all stakeholders, including physicians, to address the overprescribing
> of opioids that we know is connected to heroin use in order to save lives.*
>
>
>
> *Addressing Londonderry Rotary, Governor Hassan Calls for Comprehensive,
> Expedited Substance Abuse Legislation*
>
>
>
> LONDONDERRY – At this morning’s Rotary Club of Londonderry meeting,
> Governor Maggie Hassan called on the legislature to take up comprehensive
> substance abuse legislation as quickly as possible in order to strengthen
> the state’s efforts to combat the heroin and substance abuse crisis.
>
>
>
> Over the past several months, Governor Hassan has been meeting with
> legislative leaders from both chambers to outline legislative changes that
> she believes need to be made to help New Hampshire better address the
> opioid epidemic. Governor Hassan said that she believes the legislation
> should be taken up during a special session of the State Legislature by the
> end of the year, and barring that, an expedited bill should be sent to her
> desk by January 22 during the next legislative session.
>
>
>
> “People are dying nearly every day, and we must act quickly to give
> patients, providers, parents and law enforcement better tools to combat
> this epidemic,” Governor Hassan said. “Comprehensive substance abuse
> legislation should be the legislature’s number one priority, and I believe
> the legislature should reconvene for a special session to address this
> crisis. Barring that, the legislature should have an expedited bill on my
> desk for signature by January 22. In addition, I continue to encourage the
> legislature to reauthorize our bipartisan health care expansion plan as
> quickly as possible, and before April when insurers must file to be in New
> Hampshire’s marketplace.”
>
>
>
> Governor Hassan said one of the most important steps the legislature can
> take is reauthorizing the bipartisan New Hampshire Health Protection
> Program, which has already provided treatment services for substance abuse
> and behavioral health to thousands of Granite Staters, so that providers
> have the certainty that they need to safely invest in expanding treatment
> capacity.
>
>
>
> In addition, items that Governor Hassan said need to be considered include:
>
>
>
>    - *Cracking down on fentanyl:* Fentanyl is currently a major cause of
>    overdoses death in New Hampshire, but state law does not reflect that
>    reality. The Governor is calling for matching the penalties for selling and
>    distributing fentanyl with those for heroin.
>    - *Supporting law enforcement response:* Governor Hassan recently
>    announced two grants to support local law enforcement in high-risk
>    communities like Manchester in combating the heroin and opioid crisis. The
>    Governor is calling for providing additional resources to the Department of
>    Safety so that they can expand the pilot program with Manchester to assist
>    on the ground with arresting street-level dealers and seizing illicit drugs
>    in other hard-hit communities.
>    - *Streamlining insurance coverage for treatment:* Governor Hassan's
>    proposal would help ensure that patients have timely access to treatment by
>    requiring all insurance companies to use the same evaluation criteria
>    (ASAM) – making it easier for patients to get into hospital detox beds
>    without prior authorization and ensuring that the Department of Insurance
>    has the tools that it needs to enforce parity.
>    - *Updating prescriber practices to increase awareness of the risks of
>    opioids:* Governor Hassan continues to work with the medical community
>    to develop stronger, more explicit and more up-to-date rules to prevent
>    opioid abuse. Her proposal would require all prescriber medical boards to
>    adopt updated rules to ensure that patients and providers are warned
>    adequately of the risks of opioids, to follow best prescribing practices,
>    and to ensure that prescribers are receiving appropriate medical education
>    on prescribing opioids and best pain management exercises. Stopping
>    addiction before it starts is a critical component to a comprehensive
>    approach, and it is clear that the overprescribing of opioids plays a role
>    in the crisis, but right now, the Board of Medicine rules are out of-date,
>    linking to a statement that say opioids have a low risk for addiction,
>    among other issues.
>    - *Limiting duration for emergency room prescriptions:* As part of
>    updated prescribing practices, Governor Hassan proposes considering a limit
>    on emergency room opioid prescriptions for a period of five to seven days
>    so that patients are getting a long-term treatment plan from their primary
>    care providers.
>    - *Expanding drug courts:* The Governor continues to support funding
>    for a statewide drug court plan.
>    - *Strengthening the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP)*:
>    Governor Hassan worked to launch the PDMP in October 2014 and signed
>    bipartisan legislation earlier this year to facilitate data-sharing with
>    other states. Governor Hassan proposes continuing efforts to strengthen the
>    functionality and technology of the PDMP so that more prescribers can use
>    it in a timely fashion.
>    - *Other potential measures: *The Governor would also support
>    legislation that would require the Department of Justice and the Department
>    of Health and Human Services to develop new rules for licensing and
>    regulating pain and methadone clinics, as well as adding a pain management
>    specialist to the Board of Medicine.
>
> “There is no excuse for inaction as we continue our ongoing efforts to
> combat the heroin and substance abuse crisis, and I remain committed to
> working with the legislature to develop and finalize this important
> legislation,” Governor Hassan said. “We will have to continue to fight
> together – each and every one of us, every single day – to build on our
> efforts to combat this crisis.”
>
>
>
>
>
> ###
>
>
>
>
> ---
> Harrell Kirstein
> Hillary for New Hampshire
> [email-masked]
> 609 915-5662 | @harrellkirstein
>
> ---
> Harrell Kirstein
> Hillary for New Hampshire
> [email-masked]
> 609 915-5662 | @harrellkirstein
>
>
> On Tue, Oct 27, 2015 at 7:47 PM, Emily Aden <[email-masked]>
> wrote:
>
>> Edits attached in comments, are there some areas where we need policy
>> backup. Thanks!
>>
>> On Tue, Oct 27, 2015 at 7:28 PM, Dan Stein <[email-masked]>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Thanks Megan
>>>
>>> On Tue, Oct 27, 2015 at 7:28 PM, Megan Rooney <
>>> [email-masked]> wrote:
>>>
>>>> This is ready for the book.  Thanks.
>>>>
>>>> (Now including more on equal pay -- thank you Team NH)
>>>>
>>>> On Tue, Oct 27, 2015 at 6:55 PM, Megan Rooney <
>>>> [email-masked]> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Hey all -- here's a revised draft for tomorrow morning's Politics and
>>>>> Eggs.
>>>>>
>>>>> As discussed this afternoon, this does not drive a sharp contrast with
>>>>> Bernie.  It does drive a contrast with the Republicans.  It's still a
>>>>> speech on the economy.
>>>>>
>>>>> Please send me edits asap so I can get this to the book.  Otherwise,
>>>>> send me edits any time tonight.
>>>>>
>>>>> Thanks!
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>
>

-- 
Corey Ciorciari
Policy Department
Hillary for America
@CoreyCiorciari