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Assembly panel advances bill to pilot remote methadone dosing, funds $225,000
Summary
The Assembly Aging and Human Services Committee released A2191 to establish a remote methadone dosing pilot and appropriate $225,000 after testimony from providers and vendors who argued the approach can expand access, improve retention and reduce transportation burdens.
The Assembly Aging and Human Services Committee on Monday advanced A2191, a bill to establish a remote methadone dosing pilot within the Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services and appropriate $225,000 for the effort. Supporters said the remote-observation model would expand access to medication for opioid use disorder while adding safeguards against diversion.
Sam Bender of Public Strategies Impact and Phil Beck of Sonora Health told the committee the company’s asynchronous video observation platform lets patients record themselves taking take-home methadone for later review by a care team. "Remote observation of take home methadone can support that by retaining people in treatment and effectively saving those lives," Beck said in his testimony.
The nut graf: testimony from treatment providers and an industry vendor emphasized that remote observation can reduce barriers such as daily travel to opioid treatment programs and suggested the pilot would allow New Jersey to build on federal changes from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration that expanded take-home and telehealth flexibilities after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Supporters provided operational details and early metrics. Beck said Sonora has recorded more than 300,000 remote doses nationwide and that care teams approved roughly 85% of those doses, with about one in seven episodes requiring some patient intervention or education. Margaret Rizzo, executive director and CEO of JSAS Healthcare, a Monmouth County opioid treatment program, said the platform can "add an additional layer of diversion control to safeguard both patients and the community." Maisha Ware, president of the New Jersey Association for Treatment of Opioid Dependence, told the panel the association represents more than 40 opioid treatment programs across the state and urged lawmakers to adopt the pilot as a way to increase access while preserving clinical safeguards.
Committee members asked operational questions about dosing frequency and who decides how many at-home doses a patient receives. Beck said frequency is ultimately set by the prescriber at the opioid treatment program and that, in practice, remote observation is typically performed once a day though some patients record doses twice daily when clinically appropriate.
Assemblywoman Fantasia, who voted to advance the bill, suggested the Legislature consider using opioid settlement funds to expand the program and asked that the pilot explicitly include areas such as Essex County, which she said has a high rate of overdose deaths. The motion to release A2191 was made by Assemblywoman Peter Paul and seconded by Assemblywoman Fantasia; members recorded their assent and the bill was released out of committee.
A2191 will next proceed to the Assembly floor for further consideration.
