HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolutions - 2017.07.19 - 23039MISCELLANEOUS RESOLUTION #17222
BY: Commissioners Adam Kochenderfer, District #15; Bob Hoffman, District #2; Shelley Taub, District
#12; Wade Fleming, District #16; Tom Middleton, District #4
IN RE: BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS — SUPPORT SB 0274 & OPPOSE HB 4601 — AMEND PUBLIC
ACT 368 or 1978, PUBLIC HEALTH CODE
To the Oakland County Board of Commissioners
Chairperson, Ladies and Gentlemen;
WHEREAS Oakland County and the State of Michigan continue to work to address the critical opioid
epidemic in our county and state, individually and cohesively; and
WHEREAS opioids, in the form of powerful and highly addictive pain killers, have led to rising numbers of
opioid dependence among Michigan citizens; and
WHEREAS a recent National Drug Assessment study named prescription drug overdoses as the second
leading cause of accidental death'behind traffic crashes, and painkillers as the top opioid contributing to
death; and
WHEREAS in Michigan, the number of hospitalizations involving opioids increased 120 percent between
2000 and 2011 — from 9,157 to 20,191 hospitalizations, according to the Michigan Department of
Community Health (MDCH); and
WHEREAS despite this epidemic, there is a small group of individuals for whom opioids are medically
necessary after all other treatments fail and who do not exhibit signs of abuse; and
WHEREAS Michigan House Bill 4601 and Senate Bill 0274 have been introduced in the Michigan
Legislature, which would amend Public Act 368 of 1978 entitled the "Public Health Code," regarding the
prescription of opiolds and represent efforts by the legislature to address the opioid overdose epidemic;
and
WHEREAS SB 0274 and HB 4601 take significantly different approaches to addressing the opioid
overdose epidemic; and
WHEREAS SB 0274, as amended, contains reasonable safeguards addressing opioid abuse by, among
other things, increasing restrictions placed on pharmacists when partially filling prescriptions and limiting
prescriptions to no more than a 7-day supply at a time for acute pain patients; and
WHEREAS HB 4601, unlike SB 0274, contains absolute limits on dosage amounts doctors may prescribe
for certain "pain" classifications regardless of a patient's medical history, condition, or absence of
evidence of addiction; and
WHEREAS HB 4601 infringes on a doctor's ability to care for patients by substituting the legislature's
opinion for the opinion of individual medical professionals; and
WHEREAS the Michigan Senate has passed SB 0274; and
WHEREAS HB 4601 remains pending in the Michigan House of Representatives; and
WHEREAS the Oakland County Board of Commissioners previously adopted Resolution #16046, which
supported measures to end opioid addiction and also stated that "public policy must be targeted at ending
the abuse of prescription drugs while protecting the rights of patients for whom these prescriptions are
medically necessary"; and
WHEREAS opioid addiction is a traumatic problem in our state and country that must be addressed,
however, Oakland County urges our State Legislators to take a balanced approach that specifically
targets addiction and abuse while protecting the rights of those who legitimately need these treatments.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Oakland County Board of Commissioners does hereby
offer their support of SB 0274 as passed by the Michigan Senate.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Oakland County Board of Commissioners does hereby oppose HB
4601 on the grounds that it includes absolute limits on dosage amounts for prescribers.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Oakland County Clerk/Register of Deeds is requested to forward
copies of this adopted resolution to the Governor of the State of Michigan, the Lt. Governor of the State of
Michigan, the Michigan Prescription Drug and Opioid Abuse Task Force, the Oakland County members of
the Michigan congressional delegation, the members of the Michigan House Health Policy Committee,
and the members of the Michigan Senate Health Policy Committee.
Chairperson, I move the adoption of the foregoing Resolution,
Commissioner Adam Kochen rfer
District #16
CommisSioner She
District #12
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Resolution #17222 July 19, 2017
The Chairperson referred the resolution to the General Government Committee. There were no
objections.