House committee hears proposal to allow schools to stock emergency albuterol; wide medical and school support

Representative Melody Cunningham brought House Bill 600 to the House Education Committee to authorize (not require) schools to stock albuterol inhalers for emergency use when a student or staff member has an asthma exacerbation or acute respiratory distress.

Cunningham told the committee the measure follows national recommendations and existing stock-medication models such as epinephrine for anaphylaxis and naloxone for opioid overdose. "This bill comes out of recommendations from 4 national associations ... and ... there's a trend nationally to have this medication allowed to be in schools for emergency situations," she said.

Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) staff and multiple medical groups testified in strong support. DPHHS public-health staff said asthma affects about 7 percent of children in Montana and that immediate access to albuterol reduces emergency-department visits, hospitalizations and missed school days. "Immediate access to albuterol can prevent and treat severe asthma attacks, reduce emergency department visits, hospitalizations, and potentially even fatalities," the DPHHS program manager said.

Physicians, physician assistants, the Montana Medical Association and the Montana Academy of Family Physicians described clinical benefits and real-world examples where on-site albuterol allowed children to return to class rather than being transported to the emergency department. Dr. Deborah Lipson, a pediatric pulmonologist, cited national experience and mortality data and urged passage to close a gap: while most students with asthma are permitted to carry prescribed inhalers, only a fraction have their personal inhaler available at school when an event occurs.

Multiple witnesses and the Office of Public Instruction said the bill is voluntary, includes parental-notification and reporting elements, and contemplates training and protocols for school personnel or nurses. The bill requires schools to report administration events to DPHHS and allows donations for procurement; witnesses estimated typical per-school startup cost at around $155–$300 (drug plus spacer and training), and others said other states' stock-albuterol programs have generated health-care cost savings by averting emergency transports and visits.

There were no recorded opponents in the transcript and no committee vote recorded during the hearing. Several committee members asked about costs, notification to parents when medication is administered, and whether the drug should be limited to students with a prior diagnosis; medical witnesses and the sponsor said the risk of administering albuterol to someone in respiratory distress without a prior diagnosis is low and that protocol-based treatment and follow-up with primary care would be used.

Ending: HB 600 received broad support from health-care, public-health and school stakeholders at the hearing. The committee heard estimates of limited cost per school and was told the program reduces absenteeism and could prevent hospitalizations; committee members raised implementation questions about parent notification and program logistics to be resolved before a potential committee vote.