State representatives Doyle Heffley (R-Carbon), Rosemary Brown (R-Monroe/Pike), Kurt Masser (R-Columbia/Montour/Northumberland), Dan Moul (R-Adams) and Stephen Kinsey (D-Philadelphia), introduced a package of opioid-related bills Tuesday to help fight drug abuse.

Each bill was in response to the recommendations of the report of the Task Force and Advisory Committee on Opioid Prescription Drug Proliferation.Heffley's legislation, House Bill 1698, would provide coverage requirements for insurance carriers and health insurance for abuse- deterrent opioid analgesic drugs.This bill would ensure parity for the prescription of tamper-resistant drugs. A tamper-resistant pill guarantees that the state of the pill cannot be altered, and therefore it cannot be crushed, snorted or injected."This is an incredibly important issue that touches people from all walks of life across Pennsylvania," Heffley said.Other bills in the package include Brown's bill, which would regulate the prescribing of controlled substances in hospital emergency departments; Masser's bill, which would encourage curricula about addiction in medical education; Moul's bill, which would provide for the disposal of unused drugs; and Kinsey's resolution, which would request a study on the enforcement of existing drug laws.