Massapequa, NY - September 29, 2017 - Senator John E. Brooks, who has focused on the nation’s drug epidemic that has taken an especially high toll on Long Islanders, met with recovery and treatment advocates today at Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s press conference on solutions for the fatal drug scourge. Brooks’ district office, located in Massapequa, has been the venue for meetings of his Opioid Policy Work Group that brings advocates, resources and concerned residents together to share solutions to this crisis.
Senator Brooks applauded the Governor’s proposals to add eleven forms of fentanyl, the powerful and deadly opioid, to New York State’s controlled substance list, in order to give law enforcement agencies tools to target the drugs’ manufacture, sale and distribution.
Brooks supports Governor Cuomo’s proposal requiring insurance companies doing business in New York to pay for higher doses of naloxone, more commonly known as ‘Narcan’.
Said Senator Brooks, “One dose of Narcan might save the life of someone experiencing a heroin overdose; but the person OD’ing on Fentanyl requires five times the amount of naloxone. If those additional doses aren’t administered, the patient will die. Currently insurance companies will not reimburse emergency medical responders, hospitals or law enforcement for those additional, needed doses of naloxone. People saving lives shouldn’t be hindered by even a suggestion that the bottom line figures into the equation when preventing a fatal overdose – often to a very young life. This proposal will help.”