A Step Forward in Fight Against Opioid Abuse

Last year alone, drug overdoses killed 72,000 Americans. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, that record number reflects a 10{06cf2b9696b159f874511d23dbc893eb1ac83014175ed30550cfff22781411e5} increase from the year before. In Massachusetts alone, there were more than 2,000 deaths due to overdose in 2017. It’s an epidemic that we, as a community, must fight.

Gov. Charlie Baker recently signed into law new legislation that expands opioid-addiction treatment in Massachusetts. The new law has been described as “the most aggressive and progressive” in the country, and, given the crisis of opioid abuse in the Commonwealth, such an approach is most welcome.

One aspect of the law that the Mental Health Assoc. (MHA) believes deserves special recognition is a new set of standards and an established credentialing process for recovery coaches. A recovery coach is someone who has received specialized training to provide guidance and support for people who are just beginning their recovery and are especially vulnerable to relapse. Importantly, a recovery coach also has lived experience with addiction and is in long-term recovery. 

When it comes to getting clean and staying clean, a recovery coach has been there and gets it in a way only someone who has experienced addiction understands. A recovery coach is a critical resource for an individual in recovery. “You’ve got to find some way to help people stay in the game and stay clean once they get clean,” Baker said. “Creating a credentialing framework and making it possible for services to be reimbursed [by insurance] is a huge part of how we ultimately win this fight.”

MHA applauds the governor and the state Legislature on the passage of this crucial new legislation. It makes us even more hopeful for the people we are helping through our recovery-support programs, which, for years, have included the very type of recovery coaches the state law now recognizes and standardizes with regard to training and credentialing. The law’s provisions should help to make the services of a peer-recovery coach available to more people struggling to overcome their addiction. 

So, overall this is great news, but it doesn’t mean we are in the clear. Opioid addiction is not over. To win the war against opioid addiction, we must fight every battle relentlessly. We must improve education so people of all ages understand the life-threatening risks involved with opioids.

We must help people struggling with addiction to get the help they need to get clean and stay on their road of recovery. By working collaboratively, our community, our Commonwealth, and our nation can challenge the opioid epidemic and prevail — but we can’t let up.