Jan. 26, 2012 —
FRANKFORT - Just one day after state and federal law enforcement officials raided a Paintsville pain clinic for the second time in a year, a Senate committee Thursday began reviewing a bill to regulate such clinics.
Senate Bill 42, sponsored by Sen. Jimmy Higdon, R-Lebanon, would require such clinics to be owned by licensed physicians who have not had licenses revoked or face pending license action in other states.
Over prescribing of pain medication or illegally obtaining them has become a major problem in Kentucky, especially in eastern Kentucky. Gov. Steve Beshear has called for legislation to control the problem and is working with Attorney General Jack Conway and House Speaker Greg Stumbo on legislation to deal with the problem. More people die from drug overdoses in Kentucky than from motor vehicle accidents.
Higdon said part of the problem is that many of the pain clinics are owned by non-physicians, like the Care More Pain Management Clinic in Paintsville. But some committee members don’t think his bill goes far enough.
Sen. Ray Jones, D-Pikeville, said the bill should require all physicians who prescribe controlled substances and all pharmacies filling those prescriptions to enter those transactions on the state’s electronic tracking system known as KASPER. Only about a fourth of the state’s doctors are registered with KASPER and even fewer use the system.
Jones, whose wife if a physician, said the problem is endemic in southeastern Kentucky and said his wife sees incidents where patients are doctor shopping not only in Kentucky but in neighboring West Virginia. He said family physicians, pediatricians and obstetricians have also been known to prescribe the drugs and some doctors can make much more money prescribing pain medication than they can in their regular practice.
He related the story of a friend whose son borrowed old suits of Jones’ – an attorney – while in law school. Subsequently, Jones said, the young man was buried in one of those suits after his death from over dose and Jones spoke at the man’s funeral.
“It’s at the point now where we absolutely have to take action,” said Sen. Brandon Smith, R-Hazard, who said the bill should also address problems with methadone clinics in some eastern Kentucky communities.
Jones said he wants to work with Higdon on his bill but that “it does not go far enough.”
“This bill needs to be a comprehensive omnibus bill that not only regulates pain clinics but to regulate over prescribing,” said Jones who wants to require any doctor prescribing a controlled substance to utilize the KASPER system.
Committee Chair Sen. Tom Jensen, R-London, said before the meeting he did not propose to vote on the bill but after the questions from Jones and Smith, he suggested Higdon work with them to satisfy their concerns about the bill.
The Paintsville clinic was raided for the second time in a year Wednesday with officials from Conway’s office and the federal Drug Enforcement Agency arresting 29 people. One doctor at the clinic was arrested in February and eventually pleaded guilty to federal charges of illegally prescribing Percocet, an addictive painkiller.
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