* A bipartisan anti-heroin package was unveiled yesterday…

Republican Reps. John Anthony of Plainfield and John Cabello of Loves Park and former Rep. Dennis Reboletti joined Assistant House Majority Leader Lou Lang, D-Skokie, at a news conference Monday to announce the introduction of legislation to combat the drug. Lang said he filed House Bill 1 after a 2014 task force found the problem was much worse than he expected.

The bill looks to attack the problem from a variety of different angles instead of just focusing on treatment, Lang said.

It includes provisions for the disposal of certain potentially addictive medications, limits the number of those medications to a 10-day supply, changes Medicaid to cover rehabilitation services and provides at no cost to police departments medicine used to remedy heroin overdoses. Money would also be allocated for education and treatment purposes.

Lang estimates the entire proposal would require about $25 million. He said he thought the program was worth it, but acknowledged the state faces tough fiscal times and may need new revenue streams to fund the initiative.

* The pricetag is an issue…

“Heroin is a huge problem but the budget is very tight this year also,” said Rep. Patti Bellock, House Republicans’ point person on the Medicaid health program for the poor. “I would try to look at cost effective ways of doing things.”

* And it steps on some interest group toes…

Lang acknowledged that portions of the legislation -including limiting painkiller prescriptions and requiring pharmacies to serve as prescription “take back” sites - could be opposed by the powerful pharmaceutical and hospital lobby in Springfield, because of increased regulation. […]

While Illinois State Medical Society President William McDade said the group was still reviewing the legislation, he pointed to a recent paper released by the group stating support for expanding access to antidotes but urging caution in limiting the number of pills a physician can prescribe.

“In short, there’s going to be a lot of pushback,” Lang said.

* That NARCAN antidote is pretty remarkable…

“It’s an antidote that works,” said Lang. “But it’s not an antidote that everybody has.”

The bill requires [and pays for] first responders to carry the product. West Frankfort Police Chief Shawn Talluto supports the idea, as long as officers get the proper training. […]

“We’ve had people who’ve been overdosed,” said Talluto. “Once they bring them into the ambulance and administer that drug, it will bring them back.”

However, the EMTs could be farther away in some of the smaller counties. A police officer may be the first on scene.

“They’re not for sure if that person is overdosed or not, because they’re not a medical person,” said Talluto. “They can administer that drug, and there are no ill effects against an individual if they are not an overdose victim.”

* Also in the bill…

• An increase in the number of times an individual can be admitted to drug court, providing people with more potential access to rehab instead of a direct path to prison.

• A mandate that requires all coroners to share information involving death due to drug overdose with Illinois’ Department of Public Health and requires hospitals to report all controlled substance overdoses to the Department of Public Health within 48 hours.

• A measure to improve the Prescription Monitoring Program, which ensures people aren’t “doctor shopping” to receive more opioids than needed, by mandating that pharmacies update dispensing information every day and barring patients from having more than two prescribers in a 30-day period.

• A mandated statewide prescription return program that would allow Illinois residents to return unused medications to any pharmacy for disposal.

The bill’s full text is here.