Committee examines House Bill 32 on medication for opioid use disorder, asks DOC to refine language

The House Corrections & Institutions committee on Feb. 12 took testimony and asked the Department of Corrections (DOC) to return with specific language changes to House Bill 32, a bill intended to codify continuity of care for people in custody who receive medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD).

Dr. Jamie Zilliger, medical director for Wellpath in the Vermont Department of Corrections, told the committee, “we strongly support the legislative intent of the bill as written,” but warned the bill as drafted could make care less consistent in practice. Zilliger said DOC currently uses memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with some opioid treatment programs for methadone dosing and that logistics — including whether outside providers evaluate patients in person or asynchronously by telehealth — affect how dosing and adjustments are made.

The bill would require an MOU with the opioid treatment program nearest each correctional facility, language that committee members and DOC staff said could create multiple MOUs across the state and raise questions about who is accountable for care inside facilities. “If we were instead relying on services through an MOU, we lose an amount of leverage over those…