Gov. Charlie Baker has proposed a new, multifaceted piece of legislation designed to combat the opioid epidemic in Massachusetts.
Baker’s CARE Act aims to improve access to treatment, prevent opioid misuse and expand opioid addiction education. The acronym stands for an Act Relative to Combating Addiction, Accessing Treatment, Reducing Prescriptions, and Enhancing Prevention.
“This legislation continues our commitment to mitigate the impacts of the ongoing opioid addiction crisis in Massachusetts,” Baker’s administration wrote in a letter to the Legislature.
The governor is billing the new legislation as a follow-up to 2016’s STEP Act, which had the full title of Act Relative to Substance Use, Treatment, Education and Prevention. That legislation included measures that created tools for tracking opioid prescriptions and required substance abuse evaluations be offered to anyone treated for an opioid overdose.
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